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Nature and Environment

City crews are preparing barricades to direct motorists away from flooded roads.

Tucson braces for potential monsoon storms

Jun 19, 2024 City crews are preparing barricades to direct motorists away from flooded roads.
The vaquita is a critically endangered porpoise that lives in the northern part of the Sea of Cortez. It is considered the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world.

Even fewer critically endangered vaquitas sighted in Mexico this year

Jun 17, 2024 Researchers say only six to eight of the porpoises were sighted.
Strong Arm, a well-known saguaro cactus in the Tortolita Preserve near Marana, was estimated to be 150 to 200 years old and 40 feet tall when it toppled during an August storm. But the actual cause of death was Erwinia cacticida, a bacteria that causes saguaros to rot and ooze a thick, black liquid.

More than 70 million people in the US are under heat alerts

Jun 17, 2024 Officials again are warning residents to take precautions, go indoors and hydrate.
Monsoon clouds hover above a southern Arizona neighborhood.

UA Monsoon Madness returns for 2024

Jun 17, 2024 Hundreds are expected to enter the annual online contest to predict stormy weather.
Saguaro cactus amid mid-afternoon sun.

The Buzz: Coping with Extreme Heat

Jun 14, 2024 As summer temperatures get dangerous, we look at efforts to keep people safe.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Richard Monocchio announces new Housing and Urban Development guidelines on financial assistance for air conditioning costs in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday, June 13, 2024.

HUD will allow more federal dollars to go toward electric bill assistance

Jun 13, 2024 Government officials visited a public housing complex in Tucson to make the announcement.
Looking east across Roosevelt Lake in Central Arizona.

Conservation groups threaten legal action over Pinto Valley Mine expansion

Jun 13, 2024 Sierra Club and Maricopa Audubon Society claim violations of the Endangered Species Act, citing risks to wildlife and water resources.
A monsoon storm drops localized, heavy rainfall over northwest Tucson, Marana, and Oro Valley. From August 2022.

Conflicting weather patterns bring monsoon uncertainty

Jun 11, 2024 The upcoming transition between an El Niño winter and a La Niña summer is unique.
Pima County Medical Examiner Greg Hess at his office in Tucson, Ariz. Hess and another Arizona-based medical examiner are rethinking how to catalog and count heat-related deaths, a major step toward understanding the growing impacts of heat.

Here's why an Arizona medical examiner is working to track heat-related deaths

Jun 11, 2024 Rethinking how to catalog and count heat-related deaths is a major step toward understanding the growing impacts of climate change.
Water availability is one of the most pressing economic issues in the state of Arizona.

The Buzz: Arizona's Economy and Water

Jun 7, 2024 We speak with economic experts about Arizona's economy, with attention paid to how water plays a role.
Sonoran Desert National Monument.

BLM restricts target shooting at Sonoran Desert National Monument to protect natural and cultural resources

Jun 6, 2024 New regulations limit dispersed recreational shooting to 5,295 acres, safeguarding plant species, archaeology sites and historic trails.
On Friday, May 31, 2024, Senator Mark Kelly gathered with local solar industry leaders at the Solar Gain Inc., facility in Tucson, Ariz., to discuss federal investments into the state for renewable energy. From left to right, Ben Bryce, senior manager of the Environmental Defense Fund Action, Craig Storlie, Tucson solar homeowner, Senator Mark Kelly, Priya Sundareshan, Arizona State Senator, Autumn Johnson, Executive Director of Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association, and Adrian Keller, Arizona program director for Solar United Neighbors of Arizona (SUN).

Arizona advances in renewable energy with federal investments

May 31, 2024 Senator Mark Kelly and other local leaders talk about the state's clean energy growth and jobs.
A male Elegant Trogon, as featured in Richard Cachor Taylor's 2022 book "Birds of Arizona".

Celebrating one of the Sonoran Desert's most popular visitors.

May 29, 2024 Also on Arizona Spotlight: The secrets of the Vegan Night Market; how the Noyce Teaching Scholarship is helping to find and retain good STEM teachers in Arizona; and Julie Sasse says goodbye to the Tucson Museum of Art.
A Harris's Hawk perches on a saguaro cactus in Ironwood Forest National Monument, with Ragged Top Peak in the distance.

Tucson Audubon Society, to drop "Audubon" from its name

May 28, 2024 The change is part of a growing trend across the country, while the national environmental group remains firm.
Horseshoe Bend, five miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, is a popular viewing spot for the Colorado River.

Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water

May 24, 2024 The Navajo Nation Council has signed off on a proposed settlement.
A home under construction in Marana in a development owned by Meritage Homes. March 2021.

The Buzz: Housing Round Table Discussions

May 24, 2024 We talk with experts in homelessness and housing to talk about Southern Arizona's crisis.

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