Arizona Sustainability News
The Federal Transit Administration has approved a $2.6 million grant for the city of Tucson. Tucson Electric Power will partner with the city to install the electric charging stations. Arizona is one of 38 states to receive the grant.
July 30, 2019
The world’s most endangered marine mammal is a small porpoise that lives just south of the Arizona border in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Now, a new documentary about the animal’s plight from executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio is playing in Arizona.
July 26, 2019
Water managers on the Colorado River are facing a unique moment. With a temporary fix to the river’s scarcity problem recently completed, talk has begun to turn toward future agreements to manage the water source for 40 million people.
July 26, 2019
About 120 million Americans draw their drinking water from wells, and groundwater provides nearly half of all irrigation in the U.S. Today, with aquifers draining faster than nature can refill them, a new study says deeper wells are not the answer.
July 22, 2019
Arizona Public Service is feeling the effects of a temporary state rule banning power shut offs this summer.
July 19, 2019
The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the U.S. Forest Service. The environmental group filed notice Wednesday, saying the Forest Service violated a 1998 legal settlement. Back then, the service agreed to keep cattle away from streams in eastern Arizona.
July 18, 2019
The headquarters for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees hundreds of millions of acres of public land, will soon be moving out of Washington, D.C., and into the West. Colorado Public Radio’s Stina Sieg is based in Grand Junction, and joined The Show to talk about the move.
July 17, 2019
Conservation groups sued the Trump administration Monday for attempting to drill for oil and gas in northern Arizona without an environmental review.
July 16, 2019
As states and countries deal with water scarcity, Jim Robbins says desalination has become an increasingly popular option. Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, talks about the list of potential solutions for Arizona’s water issues.
July 16, 2019
Arizona Sens. Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema may have had an epic battle on the campaign trail last year, but now they are joining together to sponsor a bill that works to address our region’s dry future.
July 16, 2019
The state’s largest wildfire so far this year is all but out. The Woodbury Fire began June 8 just northeast of Apache Junction and, so far, has burned more than 123,000 acres, making it the fifth-largest wildfire in state history.
July 16, 2019
The number of days with a heat index higher than 100 degrees in Arizona could more than double by the middle of the century, and the number of days with a heat index higher than 105 could more than quadruple by midcentury.
July 16, 2019
Environmentalists want to stop the Bureau of Land Management from leasing more than 4,000 acres of land near the Petrified Forest National Park to the oil and gas industry.
July 16, 2019
Fees for Coconino National Forest campgrounds could increase substantially later this year. For example, under the proposal, camping at the Moqui site would move from $30 per night to $100.
July 15, 2019
Groundwater pumping has cost some streams up to half of their flows, according to new research from the University of Arizona and the Colorado School of Mines.
July 15, 2019
Mexico’s largest mining company spilled sulfuric acid into the Sea of Cortez in Guaymas, Sonora, on Tuesday. Officials say the spill was minor, but it has caused concern because of the company’s legacy of environmental damage.
→ UNESCO: Vaquita Porpoise Habitat ‘In Danger’
→ UNESCO: Vaquita Porpoise Habitat ‘In Danger’
July 12, 2019
Peoria is replacing its street lights with more energy efficient and longer lasting LED bulbs. Janet Ramsay, manager of the city’s streets division, said the city plans to replace 3,200 street lights throughout the city.
July 11, 2019
Electric scooters will soon be available in downtown Phoenix. The City Council has approved a six-month pilot program for e-scooters, which is expected to start in mid-September.
July 11, 2019
Governors of 23 states and Puerto Rico this week urged the Trump administration to adopt a stronger fuel economy standard for vehicles. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was not one of those governors.
July 11, 2019
Heat-related deaths are all too common in Arizona. In 2018, excessively hot temperatures claimed 182 lives in the Phoenix area, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. It was a new record — and the numbers continue to rise.
July 10, 2019
