More Like Eye-Clogging

Dallas takes on climate change with eye-opening enviro-summit

Downtown Dallas behind flooded Trinity River

Good air quality contributes to good health.

Photo by Scot Miller

Climate change is real and Dallas is taking a step to fight back. The city's Office of Environmental Quality and Dallas Bar Association's Environmental Law Section are partnering to host the first North Texas Climate Change Symposium on March 9, at the historic Belo Mansion in downtown Dallas, where city leaders and climatologists will convene to address the impact on the city and local economy.

The four-hour event will run from 12-4 pm and feature councilmember Sandy Greyson, who will deliver opening remarks, and State Climatologist Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon of Texas A&M University, who will give the keynote address.

According to a release, the impacts of climate change to Dallas are already significant. In 2017, Dr. Brian Stone (Georgia Tech University) conducted a study for Texas Trees Foundation called the Dallas Urban Heat Island Study, which found that Dallas' urban heat island effect is amplified by climate change, and the city is warming at a rate that is the third highest in the nation.

In 2015, Dr. Arne Winguth (University of Texas-Arlington) presented a report to the North Central Texas Council of Governments concluding that extreme weather such as heat and floods was likely to have a significant impact on the region's infrastructure.

Both UT-Arlington and Texas Trees Foundation are participating in the symposium. Three expert panels will cover topics such as climate resilience and infrastructure, and climate environmental justice.

OEQ director James McGuire says that the goal of the event is to help educate and bring awareness to the impacts of climate change.

"We all have concerns that relate to how climate change is playing out on the local level," McGuire says. "In the last few months, the department saw a window open for an opportunity to host something like this, to raise awareness about what the specific impacts are going to be to North Texas. All of the surveys and research make it clear that CO2 emissions are an issue, but there's been a gap in understanding the risk to North Texas. The city of Dallas cannot stop climate change on its own, but we need to be involved."

The event is open to the public, but seating is limited; you can RSVP online by clicking greendallas.net.

The agenda is as follows:

Introduction: Cities' Role in Combating Climate Change, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
Keynote Speaker Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon (State Climatologist)
Panel- Climate Resilience/Urban Planning/Infrastructure
Panel- Climate Justice/Environmental Justice
Panel- Climate Change and Local Economy
Reception/ Happy Hour hosted by the Environmental Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association

sustainability weather

income analysis

This is how much a single-income family needs to make in Texas in 2026

Photo by Jimmy Dean on Unsplash

The income needed for a single-income household to raise a child in Texas is lower than it was last year.

With childrearing costs in the Lone Star State adding up to tens of thousands of dollars per year, many Texas families are navigating a difficult decision: should both parents work or should one parent stay home to raise the child?

For Texas families that choose the latter, the working parent needs to make nearly $73,000 per year to support their child and the stay-at-home parent, a new income analysis has revealed.

The newly released SmartAsset report used MIT's Living Wage Calculator to estimate the annual living wages needed across all 50 states for a three-person household with two working adults and one child, and a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. Costs included food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes, and "other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent needs to make $72,925 to support their stay-at-home counterpart and their child, the study found. That's $1,809 less than what was needed in 2025.

Meanwhile, the combined income needed for a household with one child and both parents working full-time is $85,030.

Texas ranked No. 42 in SmartAsset's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working parent, one stay-at-home parent, and one child. That also situates Texas as the 9th most affordable state for single-income families. But there are risks associated with only having one breadwinner in the family.

"A single income family with small children potentially saves in child care costs over a household with two working parents," the report's author wrote. "The main disadvantages are the lost salary and retirement contributions, Social Security earnings history and employer health benefits."

There aren't any specific tax benefits to having a parent stay at home to raise their child full time, but SmartAsset says single-income families can claim a tax credit under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

"[S]ingle-income families may claim the Child Tax Credit — up to $2,200 per qualifying child for 2026 ($1,700 refundable) — on the same terms as any other family," the report said.

SmartAsset's latest report only looks at costs on a statewide basis, but the cost to raise a child will also vary greatly depending on the city you live in. Raising a child in Dallas-Fort Worth might pose a challenge for some families, where the cost for childcare alone adds up to $10,736 and overall costs can surpass $23,000.

For households with two children, there might be additional strains on what a family might consider a "comfortable living." A March 2026 SmartAsset study determined a Dallas family with two working parents need to make a combined income of $214,490 to have a financially stable life while raising two children.

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income needed for single-income families are:

Arkansas ($68,869)
Mississippi ($70,054)
Kentucky ($70,179)
West Virginia ($70,283)
North Dakota ($71,219)
Oklahoma ($71,365)
Louisiana ($71,406)
Missouri ($72,862)
Texas ($72,925)
Tennessee ($72,946)

smartasset reports texas family income