By Amaia J. Gavica/Cronkite News ( Cronkite News ) – WASHINGTON – For 31 straight days last summer, temperatures in Phoenix hit or topped 110 degrees, the longest such streak ever. That searing Arizona heat dehydrates crops and evaporates water the state needs to conserve. Creating shade is one way to combat the problem. By […]
If trees could talk: Tree rings show recent decades warmest in 500 years
By Alex Hager/KUNC ( Cronkite News ) The current Western megadrought is unlike any other dry period the region has experienced over the past 500 years. That’s according to a new study in which scientists looked at tree rings to track changing temperatures going back to 1553. Researchers found that human-fueled climate change is driving […]
New Climate Report Shows Impact of Drying on Human Health in American Southwest
By Alex Hager/KUNC ( Cronkite News ) – The arid West is getting drier, and shrinking water supplies pose a boatload of risks to human health throughout the region. Those findings come from a new federal report on climate change that also covers a broad range of hazards brought on by changing climate patterns due […]
“We all just evaporate:” Extreme Heat Overwhelms Phoenix’s Unhoused Community
Deanna Pistono/Cronkite News ( Cronkite News ) – PHOENIX – Near the intersection of S. 11th Avenue and W. Jefferson Street in Phoenix, the heat is intense. For those who live along the street in tents and makeshift shelters, this heat can become fatal. “My friend … in the street over here, from heat exhaustion.… […]
Shifting to Electric Vehicle Fleets Would save State, Local Governments Millions
Liam Coates/Cronkite News ( Cronkite News) – WASHINGTON – Arizona governments could save almost $283 million over the next 10 years if roughly 20,000 gasoline-powered light-duty vehicles in their fleets that are due to be retired were replaced with electric vehicles, according a recent report. The 38-page report by the Public Interest Research Group […]
Climate Crisis: Arizona Leaders ask Feds to Declare Extreme Heat a FEMA Disaster
Josh Bootzin/Cronkite News ( Cronkite News ) – PHOENIX – All Phoenicians are familiar with heat, though resources to mitigate the health risks presented by extreme heat are not nearly as consistent from resident to resident. In 2022, 425 heat-associated deaths were reported in Maricopa County, a 25% increase from the previous year. To curb […]
Climate Emergency: As Heat-Related Deaths Soar in Arizona, Groups Launch Tree-Planting Intitiatives
The blue palo verde is Arizona’s state tree. Several are shown in a neighborhood in North Phoenix. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News) By Jeremy Yurow/Cronkite News April 7, 2023 ( Cronkite News ) – PHOENIX – Arizona cities, environmental advocates and businesses are teaming up to combat extreme heat by launching a variety of […]
Solar Plant northwest of Flagstaff expected to Avoid 1 billion pounds of CO2 Emissions each Year
By Sydnee Wilson ( Cronkite News ) – FLAGSTAFF – Salt River Project has partnered with Clenera, a private renewable energy company, to bring Arizona its largest solar plant in 2024. Construction of the CO Bar Solar plant will begin in 2023 on 2,400 acres of private land northwest of Flagstaff in Coconino County. Upon […]
In One State, Voters backed a Law Exposing Political ‘Dark Money’ that is hailed as Model
By Emilee Miranda | – ( Cronkite News) – WASHINGTON – It could be months before the impact of Proposition 211 is seen in Arizona, but experts are already hailing the new law aimed at exposing “dark money” in politics as a model for the rest of the nation. “Other states have passed laws that […]
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