Arizona Sustainability News

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Navajo Nation among tribes getting $40M to clean up wells
Indigenous communities have long been unduly burdened by environmental pollution. Now, the Biden administration has sent nearly $40 million to help tribal communities plug and remediate orphaned oil and gas wells.
Remote work may cut employee greenhouse emissions by half
The COVID pandemic caused a sea change in the amount and frequency of remote work – a shift that could reduce greenhouse gases. Analysis of data on energy consumption and travel behavior suggests fully remote workers produce less than half the emissions of office workers.
Sep. 21, 2023
UA-led study finds climate-driven extinction is speeding up
The work is based on surveys of dwindling lizard populations in southern Arizona’s sky-island mountain ranges. “We found like 70 years’ worth of extinction in just seven years,” said UA’s John Wiens.
More Arizona Science Desk news
Sep. 20, 2023
Bright Angel Trail closes as park fixes aging pipes
In October, crews will begin to upgrade the aging system, which has broken 85 times since 2010. Due to the work, most of the Bright Angel Trail will close from December through mid-April 2024.
Sep. 18, 2023
UN: Border wall in AZ is hurting World Heritage site
UNESCO, the UN body responsible for world heritage sites, is asking for more protection of the nature reserve just across the Arizona border in Mexico.
Sep. 18, 2023
Coconino County seeks public input to modernize dark sky ordinance
The county has had the ordinance in place since the 1980s, but officials say lighting technology has changed since then. Some recommendations in the original ordinance, like low sodium pressure bulbs, are considered archaic.
Sep. 15, 2023
Flagstaff announces prescribed burns within city limits
The city of Flagstaff has announced plans to conduct prescribed burns within city limits this fall. The burns will take place on city-owned parcels and will likely occur in mid-September to mid-November, depending on weather.
Sep. 14, 2023
River health worsening, in line with climate change predictions
Rivers are a vital source of water throughout the West, and play an essential role in the food chain and the carbon cycle. But two recent papers show river health is failing, confirming some dire predictions of climate models.
Sep. 14, 2023
Wildfire is posing a bigger threat to Sonoran Desert
The Show spoke with Mary Lata, the fire ecologist for the Tonto National Forest, about the longer season and more severe wildfires affecting the Sonoran Desert on our Saguaro Land series.
Sep. 14, 2023
BLM to take comments on plan for southern Utah monument
The Bureau of Land Management will take public comments on a draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah.
Sep. 13, 2023
BLM wants input on wild burros in northwest Arizona
The Bureau of Land Management announced a 30-day comment period allowing the public to review an environmental assessment that will manage excess wild burros living in the Three Rivers Complex, south of Kingman.
Sep. 13, 2023
How heat is inhibiting AZ from generating more solar power
The Show spoke with Nick Rolston, an assistant professor at Arizona State University's School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, where his research focus is on designing the next generation of energy materials and devices.
Sep. 13, 2023
150-year-old law governing key industry needs update in Congress, mining report says
Last year, the Biden administration appointed a working group to study mining regulations and permitting, and It has issued its final report.
Sep. 12, 2023
When Phoenix gets too hot for baby birds, Liberty Wildlife lends a wing
Summer is the busiest time of year for the orphan care center at Liberty Wildlife, a sprawling complex of an animal rehabilitation center in Phoenix. If you’ve found a baby bird injured in your backyard, you can bring it in to be treated.
Sep. 12, 2023
Study: Wildfires may increase suicide risk in rural areas
Wildfire seasons are growing longer and more active, bringing smoke with well-known physiological effects. But as tiny particulates kicked up by fires drift on the wind, they might also worsen mental health and even increase suicide rates.
Sep. 7, 2023
Valentine Fire: The latest on the wildfire near the Mogollon Rim
Crews continue to monitor the Valentine Fire, which has burned about 2,500 acres northeast of the community of Young on the Mogollon Rim.
Sep. 7, 2023
Arizona schools can apply for grants to plant more trees
Roughly $300,000 in this year’s state budget went to a Trees for Kids program aimed at making public and charter school campuses more lush.
Sep. 7, 2023
A debate over historic preservation — and what deserves to be saved
The Show spoke with Timothy Sandefur and Beatrice Moore on their opinions on whether or not Arizona should invest more into historic preservation.
Sep. 6, 2023
Sierra Club sues Corporation Commission over gas plant
The Sierra Club has challenged an Arizona Corporation Commission decision to approve a permit for Salt River Project’s power plant expansion near Coolidge.
Sep. 5, 2023
Prescribed burn planned in Grand Canyon-Parashant monument
Visitors to the Grand Canyon Skywalk and the North Rim may see smoke later this week from a prescribed burn at Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.
Sep. 5, 2023
Glen Canyon Dam bypass, once radical idea, is becoming mainstream
The Colorado River reservoir is facing record low water levels that threaten the current system, and conservationists are proposing a work-around: a tunnel to bypass the dam. Others have begun to make similar proposals.
Sep. 5, 2023