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Nature and Environment

Arizona Public Media.

Rain, snow expected early this week over New Mexico, Arizona

Feb 10, 2020 Winter weather is returning to parts of New Mexico and Arizona early this week.
Cottonwoods along the San Pedro River channel cut down for pending border wall construction across the river in February 2020.

Cochise County removes rented dumpsters used for San Pedro River border wall prep

Feb 5, 2020 The contract said the dumpsters were intended for another location, according to the county.
A drought map of the West dated Aug. 28, 2018.

Study: Four Corners drought intensified by human-induced warming

Jan 31, 2020 A researcher said the drought showed what climate change is like "in the here and now."
University of Arizona sophomore Kyle Kline speaks to a crowd gathered at a climate strike protest at El Presidio Park in Tucson on Sept. 20, 2019.

Young activists press for action on climate change

Jan 31, 2020 Inexperience and age aren't stopping young people in Arizona and around the world from demanding action.
Quitobaquito pond is fed from the nearby Quitobaquito Springs. Recent construction activity near the site has drawn concern from environmental groups.

More concern, outrage over border wall's impact on sensitive desert lands

Jan 30, 2020 A recently bulldozed strip of desert has sparked another wave of criticism over the construction of President Trump's border wall.
Demonstrators gather Sunday, Jan. 26 to protest the construction of border wall across the San Pedro River.

Hundreds protest planned border wall across the San Pedro River

Jan 27, 2020 Many are worried about how the proposed barrier would impact a vital waterway and wildlife migration corridor.
Water flows down the face of Sabino Dam after a heavy winter rain. Intermittent waterways like this one will lose federal protection under the Clean Water Act under a new rule put forward by the Trump administration.

Opinions mixed on roll-out of new federal water rule

Jan 23, 2020 The Trump administration released its final rule Thursday redefining which waterways are protected under the Clean Water Act.
U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Todd Esque holds a tortoise shell in the Mojave Desert, south of Las Vegas.

Climate change, and our response to it, is making life hard for desert tortoises

Jan 23, 2020 Tortoises are being hit with a one-two punch of energy projects springing up in a desert that is getting hotter and drier.
The Rio Sonora flows through the town of Baviácora, Sonora, July 30, 2019.

Communities affected by mining spill win case in Mexico's Supreme Court

Jan 22, 2020 The decision granted protection to Sonora River Valley residents seeking remediation following a 2014 Grupo México toxic mine spill.
A 3-D microtomographic image of a grasshopper in a head-down position. The inflated air sacs in the abdomen are visible. The tomography was performed at Virginia Tech.

How grasshoppers deal with blood rushing to their heads

Jan 21, 2020 A new study sheds light on how insects deal with gravity when they're upside down or sideways.
Maricopa County averages 110 days above 100 degrees Fahrenheit a year, and it recorded 119 heat-caused deaths in 2018, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.

Heat deaths continue to rise, as federal disaster relief continues to lag

Jan 15, 2020 While weather events like floods lead can lead to relief money, no extreme heat events have been declared a federal disaster.
More than 20 people protested Tucson Electric Power's proposed rate hikes outside of the Arizona State Office Building in Tucson on Jan. 13, 2020.

TEP rate hike proposal draws opposition from climate advocates

Jan 13, 2020 Groups say TEP shouldn't keep investing in fossil fuels. The utility says the plan will enable a transition to more renewable energy.
Boulder Basin at Lake Mead.

Planning for a future with less Colorado River water

Jan 9, 2020 A new book sheds light on mistakes of the past while Arizona gears up for the next round of negotiations.
Construction on new border wall fencing at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in September, 2019.

Grijalva asks feds to 'respect tribal lands' during border construction

Jan 9, 2020 U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva is asking the Department of Homeland Security to formally consult with the Tohono O'odham Nation.
Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, Nevada, serves as the Colorado River's largest reservoir and a key water source for Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico.

Colorado River water forecast lower than normal despite snowpack

Jan 9, 2020 The forecast is mostly due to hot and dry weather in the fall that left soils parched across the region.
The crew of the whaling vessel Pequod, portrayed by Ryan Parker Knox, Christopher Pankratz, Aaron Shand and Eduardo Rodriguez, in The Rogue Theatre's stage adaptation of "Moby Dick".

The great white whale, sighted in Tucson!

Jan 8, 2020 Also on Arizona Spotlight: A conversation with ecologist Brad Lancaster; and the series "Youth Crossing Gender Borders" begins.

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