Before you do anything else, do take a look at this video by Trevor Noah…

Arizona

ARIZONA

As the sixth largest state, Arizona has a lot of land, and a lot of desert. Situated at the heart of the scorching American Southwest, Arizona regularly clocks in as one of the hottest states in the country and is home to the two hottest cities in the United States. As the Earth warms, Arizona’s 7.3 million residents face life-threatening rising temperatures and ever-dwindling water supplies. In 2021, 113 confirmed heat-related deaths in Maricopa County (which includes Phoenix) was double 2020’s number. Arizona’s homeless population will be particularly vulnerable to this health hazard. The dry, hot terrain also contributes to the state’s ongoing megadrought, which adds to a whole host of issues including the diminishment of the Colorado River, which supplies water to over a third of Arizona’s population. As temperatures have risen and drought intensified, wildfires have grown larger and burn more severely.

Arizona’s energy trends lend some hope, however. Per capita energy consumption in Arizona is already among the lowest in the nation, and the state is uniquely poised for a switch to renewable and clean energy. It has some of the best solar resources in the country and produces the nation’s highest-grade uranium — crucial for nuclear energy generation. Arizona has put this resource to work in the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, the nation’s largest nuclear power plant. Palo Verde generates more electricity annually than any other U.S. plantsecond only to the Grand Coulee Dam in total electricity generating capacity. Fossil fuels, unfortunately, continue to play a significant role. Since 2018, Arizona has reduced its dependency on coal but shifted to natural gas, which has become the state’s largest single energy source — generating one third of it’s power. The rest of the state’s energy comes from renewable sources, with a special emphasis on solar. Arizona ranks 5th in the nation for total solar installations.

In 2006, Arizona’s Climate Change Advisory Group was charged with preparing an inventory and forecast of Arizona’s greenhouse gas emissions and developing a Climate Change Action Plan with recommendations on how to reduce the state’s emissions. The report included a comprehensive set of 49 policy options.

By September of 2021, Arizona does not yet have a statewide adaptation plan despite the fact that they are the fourth-fastest warming state in the country. Local communities have taken up the battle as best they can. In 2009, Phoenix, the 2nd fastest warming city in the U.S., completed its  Climate Action Plan, which it plans to update by the end of 2021. Its goals: to become a carbon-neutral city by 2060 operating on 100% clean energy, with new buildings being net positive by 2050, and significant greenhouse gas reduction targets between 2025 and 2050. In July, 2020, Flagstaff declared a climate emergency. In September 2020, Tucson, the third fastest warming city in the nation, also  declared a climate emergency and will implement a decade long plan,  “Framework for Advancing Sustainability,”   to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Arizona lawmakers don’t make change easy. For example, in January of 2020, The Arizona Committee on Natural Resources and Energy voted to stop cities from prohibiting construction of natural gas-powered buildings.

In August, 2020, a highly anticipated meeting of the Arizona Corporation Commission ended abruptly, amid disputes over a roadmap to clean energy. In May, 2021  Arizona’s utility regulators rejected new rules that would have required most of the state’s electricity providers to get 100% of their power from clean energy sources by 2050 to limit carbon emissions and address climate change. Later that month the ACC, voted 3-2 to restart a rule-making process to establish a 100% clean energy standard for the state.  The commissioners are expected to vote on a final rule in the fall of 2021. Don’t hold your breath.

Or read the Sierra Club’s 2021 Environmental Report Card for the Arizona Legislature and Governor.

United Swing States of America - Arizona in the Grip of Climate Change | The Daily Show

CURRENT NEWS

A Native American tribe is about to put solar panels over its canals

By Michelle Lewis 11/21/23
The Gila River Indian Community signed a project partnership agreement with the US Army Corps of Engineers to put solar panels over its canals.
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Arizona’s Maricopa County has a new record for heat-associated deaths after the hottest summer

10/20/23
Arizona’s Maricopa County set a new record Thursday for annual heat-associated deaths, with 425 tallied so far this year, the same number confirmed for all of 2022.
Read more

As Drought Grips the Southwest, Water Utilities Find the Hunt For More Workers Challenging

By Wyatt Myskow 10/17/23
As the general manager of the Hopi Utilities Corporation’s water service, he works with just two other staff members to provide clean and safe drinking water to the Hopi Tribe’s reservation in Northeast Arizona. When…
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Arizona’s extreme heat threatens ‘spectacular migrations’ of butterflies

By Kevinjonah Paguio 10/15/23
This time of year, butterflies are in backyards and parks, but it may look different this season. This year’s extreme heat is expected to affect all parts of the ecosystem, including butterflies and their migration.
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Arizona governor moves to end Saudi-owned farm’s controversial leases

By Isaac Stanley-Becker and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez 10/02/23
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday that her administration would effectively kick a Saudi-owned alfalfa farm off a critical stretch of state land, a forceful step that speaks to the firestorm of controversy over foreign…
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Phoenix temperatures will heat up to the extreme once again this weekend

08/26/23
The National Weather Service in Phoenix warned the metropolitan area and parts of south-central Arizona could see potentially record-breaking temperatures this weekend. Areas of southeast California may also be impacted.
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The Federal Bureau of Reclamation Announces Reduced Water Cuts for Colorado River States

By Wyatt Myskow 08/15/23
Federal officials announced Tuesday they would be easing water cuts on the Colorado River next year following a wet winter that has now given the Southwest some breathing room as users continue to negotiate long-term…
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Arizona’s Republican legislature—the most fanatical climate change deniers

By Gloria Bernstein 08/14/23
Even with record evidenced heat that has never before been experienced consecutively in the Arizona desert, hard-line Arizona Republicans refuse to concede any resemblance of truth to the science that our planet is over-heating, it…
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Arizona Republicans don’t want to hear about the deadly heat wave

By Hank Stephenson 08/09/23
When Arizona lawmakers returned to the state Capitol here earlier this month, they started their day with a prayer to ease the scorching heat.
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First look: Culdesac brings car-free living to car-centric Phoenix

By Jessica Boehm 08/02/23
In a metro that's been called "sprawling," "car-centric" and "the world's least sustainable city," one new development stands in steadfast defiance.
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These places baked the most during Earth’s hottest month on record

By Ian Livingston 08/02/23
July 2023 will go down as the hottest month on record across the globe, and perhaps the hottest in at least 120,000 years, according to climate scientists. During this sweltering month for the planet, countless…
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You Can’t Game a Climate Emergency

By Henry Grabar 08/01/23
How hot was July in Phoenix? Too hot to be a cactus. Too hot to hold a handrail. Hot enough that children were getting second-degree burns on their feet from the surfaces of patios, balconies,…
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PLANS TO ACCELERATE RENEWABLES

Taking Action on Climate Change in Arizona

09/12/23
Climate change is no longer a distant threat. We are at a point where we have years, not decades, to take on the interconnected crises of rapid climate change and biodiversity loss. Arizona has long…

SOAR Energy Partners with Gryphon Roofing to Reduce Energy Bills of Arizona Residents

08/29/23
SOAR Energy, the #1 fastest growing solar company powered by Better Earth, today announced its partnership with Gryphon Roofing, a leading residential and commercial roofing contractor servicing Arizona, which holds the second highest solar potential…

Arizona approves cut to solar compensation rates

08/28/23
A 37% cut had been proposed, but the Arizona Corporation Commission upheld the precedent of capping the reduction at 10%, but new risks may emerge.

Sunrise brief: Arizona to vote on 37% slash to solar net metering

08/25/23
Also on the rise: Microsoft invests in 6.6 MW solar facility in Mississippi. Texas to activate its first virtual power plants. And more.

Arizona rancher switches to solar energy thanks to federal funding

08/23/23
Agriculture brings in billions of dollars for our state each year. It also emits a lot of gasses that contribute to climate change. Date Creek rancher Savannah Figueroa is using federal dollars to reduce her…

$10 billion or more headed to Arizona in clean energy spending

08/19/23
In Tucson, the federal payout for buying new low- and zero-emission buses and for conserving Colorado River water over the next few years approaches $100 million.

Arizona among top states for clean economy projects and investment, report finds

08/17/23
In the year since the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law, Arizona has racked up some of the most clean energy project announcements and investments in the nation, according to a new…

Recurrent Energy signs agreement with Arizona Public Service Copmany for BESS project

08/17/23
Canadian Solar Inc. has announced that Recurrent Energy, its wholly-owned subsidiary for global project development and power services, secured a 20-year tolling agreement with Arizona Public Service Company (APS) for Papago Storage, a 1200 MWh…

SRP to Receive More Renewable Energy from CO Bar Solar

08/09/23
Salt River Project (SRP) and Clēnera, an Enlight Company, have announced a power purchase agreement for an additional 394 megawatts (MW) of clean energy at CO Bar Solar outside of Flagstaff. This is the second…

University of Arizona to Improve Access to Clean Energy Tech

08/01/23
A new environmental justice center based at the University of Arizona will try to parlay a $10 million, five-year federal grant into helping low-income communities access billions of federal dollars for solar panels, home insulation,…

Report: Arizona added 13,000 clean-energy jobs in past year, 7th best in US

07/31/23
The report from Climate Power said those were part of the more than 170,000 jobs nationwide that it claims have been created in the past year as a result of private investments spurred by the…

Department of Energy loans $850 million for Arizona battery manufacturing

06/09/23
Kore Power announced it secured a conditional loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy Loans Program Office, receiving $850 million to build a battery cell manufacturing facility for electric vehicles and grid-scale storage.

Arizona on track for impressive solar industry growth, report says

06/09/23
In Arizona, enough new solar power capacity was added to the grid in the second quarter to give the state a No. 5 ranking in the nation for total megawatts installed. Here's a look at…

Sinema Introduces Bipartisan Legislation Creating Jobs & Boosting Renewable Energy In La Paz County

05/31/23
Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema introduced the La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act – bipartisan legislation directing the Department of the Interior to transfer approximately 4,800 acres of Bureau of Land Management…

Discover the Largest Solar Farm in Arizona (And What Lives Around It)

05/25/23
Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular as a renewable energy source, and for good reason. It is clean and can be harnessed in most parts of the world. The Agua Caliente Solar Project is the…

Energy Secretary Granholm announces funding for tribal power generation, delivery in Arizona

05/23/23
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm met with Arizona tribes on Tuesday in Phoenix to hear their concerns and announce funding for several of the tribes to modernize and harden electric grids, build or expand renewable…

Massive Texas-Sized Wind Energy Transmission Project To (Finally) Link NM, AZ

05/23/23
It’s been 16 long years, but the dream of harvesting 3,500 megawatts of zero emission wind energy in New Mexico and shipping it off to points west has finally begun to inch closer to reality,…

US approves expansive Southwest renewable energy project, involving Arizona

05/21/23
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Thursday its decision to greenlight a 520-mile, multibillion-dollar transmission line to transport renewable energy from New Mexico to Arizona and California.

Arizona State University picked to establish clean energy institute

05/19/23
The U.S. Department of Energy announced this week that Arizona State University will receive federal funding to develop a Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute.

Bright future for EVs, renewable energy in Arizona 

04/21/23
The future looks bright for electric vehicles in Arizona, according to Court Rich, the co-founder, senior partner, and director of the Renewable Energy and Regulatory Law departments for the Rose Law Group in Scottsdale.

USDA invests $2 million in rural Arizona renewable energy infrastructure

04/12/23
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday announced $6.6 million in investments for renewable energy infrastructure projects in rural communities in three states, including Arizona.

Arizona community worries energy company will hog water supply

03/13/23
Residents in one western Arizona community worry that a clean energy company, which plans to build nearby, could hog their groundwater supply.

National Science Foundation awards $90.8M to ASU to advance X-ray science

03/08/23
The National Science Foundation today announced $90.8 million in funding to Arizona State University — the largest NSF research award in the university’s history — to advance groundbreaking research in X-ray science.

Arizona county approves solar-powered cobalt sulfate production facility

03/08/23
The facility expects to produce 7,000 tonnes of cobalt per year and calls for 28.4 MW of on-site solar power generating arrays to be installed on 105 acres of the company’s 139-acre property in Yuma…

Public Lands Are Responsive To The Increased Demand For Renewable Energy

03/02/23
Significant portions of BLM public lands have excellent solar, wind and geothermal energy potential, and the BLM works to provide proper siting for environmentally sound development of renewable energy on public lands. This is an…

New transmission line will increase energy reliability in Arizona and California

By Amber Victoria Singer 02/06/23
A 125-mile transmission line is being built between Arizona and California, after nearly a decade of planning. The line, called the Ten West Link, will make it possible to send solar and wind energy between…

Without an energy office, will Arizona get its full share of the Inflation Reduction Act?

02/01/23
In November 2015, the five remaining state employees assigned to secure federal funds for energy efficiency on behalf of Arizonans were abruptly let go from their jobs and their roles were dissolved. It was another…

Federal funds help fast-growing Arizona city address several infrastructure challenges and needs

01/30/23
Joe Giudice, public works director for the city of Phoenix, says the influx of new residents is driving a lot of construction in his community. “Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the United States.…

Harris visits West Valley to applaud renewable energy project

01/30/23
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Tonopah on Jan. 19 for the groundbreaking of a new renewable energy project called Ten West Link.

A Copper Mine Could Advance Green Energy but Scar Sacred Land

01/27/23
Tribal groups are fighting an Arizona project whose backers say increasing the supply of copper, crucial to batteries, would reduce fossil-fuel use....

In Arizona, the Future of Renewable Energy Is on the Ballot

12/06/22
When political pundits call Arizona a key swing state in November’s midterm elections, they’re talking about the races for control of the US Senate and House. But it’s a down-ballot contest that makes Arizona a…

Revolve’s 250-MW Arizona solar project to be shovel-ready in 2024

11/16/22
Revolve Renewable Power Corp (CVE:REVV) expects that its 250-MW Parker solar project with battery storage in Arizona to enter the ready-to-build stage in 2024, the Vancouver, Canada-based company announced today.

These four U.S. nuclear plants will start producing clean hydrogen

11/14/22
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is partnering with utilities on four hydrogen demonstration projects at U.S. nuclear power plants.

AZ Corporation Commission approves changes to plan to expand wind power in Arizona

11/14/22
The Arizona Corporation Commission has approved a modification to a plan for new transmission lines. The vote could pave the way for more wind energy in Arizona. 

Flagstaff’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

04/02/20
The Flagstaff Climate Action and Adaptation Plan is a road map for how Flagstaff will prepare for and respond to climate change.

City of Phoenix Climate Action Plan for Government Operations

04/02/20
Phoenix has been recognized as a leader in environmental stewardship and sustainability and has a long history of implementing pollution control and natural resource conservation programs.

Arizona Climate Change Action Plan

04/02/20
Arizona's Climate Change Advisory Group, formed by executive order, was charged with (1) preparing an inventory and forecast of Arizona's greenhouse gas emissions, and (2) developing this Climate Change Action Plan with recommendations for reducing…

KEY RESOURCES

Building America’s Next Generation Infrastructure to Power Our Future

11/01/23
Grid United and Black Forest Partners are co-developing the Southline Transmission Project (Southline or the Project), a 280-mile, double-circuit, high voltage transmission line and associated substation facilities. The design provides the capability to transport power…

Images of change

07/03/22
Disappearing Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona Border

Arizona State Profile and Energy Estimates

09/23/21
Arizona is known for its stunning landscapes and natural wonders from the Grand Canyon in the north to the Saguaro deserts in the south. The state has few fossil fuel reserves, but it does have…

Energy State Bill Tracking Database

09/10/21
The searchable Energy Storage Legislation Database displays information in interactive maps and charts, tracking state activity from 2017 to the present.

Sustainable Cities Network

11/09/20
Connecting communities, advancing sustainability, and cultivating solutions.

The First National Flood Risk Assessment

10/06/20
The First Street Foundation Flood Model represents the culmination of decades of research and development made possible by building upon existing knowledge and frameworks regularly referenced in the identification of flood risk.

The Impacts of Climate Change and the Trump Administration’s Anti-Environmental Agenda in Arizona

09/19/20
Between 2017 and 2019, Arizona experienced one drought and one wildfire. The damages of each event led to losses of at least $1 billion.

State-by-State: Arizona

07/31/20
Arizona is vulnerable to increasing heat, melting snowpack, droughts, and wildfires

Preparing for Climate Change in Arizona

04/02/20
Arizona has not developed a statewide adaptation plan. Other resources from the Adaptation Clearinghouse, which have been developed by the state and localities to help communities prepare for climate change, are highlighted below.

Arizona state at risk

04/02/20
States at Risk is a project aimed at showing how Americans in all 50 states are experiencing the impacts of climate change. Our work focuses on five threats — extreme heat, drought, wildfires, coastal flooding…

Renewable Energy Standard & Tariff

04/02/20
In 2006, the Commission approved the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST). These rules require that regulated electric utilities must generate 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2025. Each year, Arizona's utility…

MORE NEWS

This Development Wants Residents to Ditch Their Cars. In Phoenix

By Ira Boudway   07/31/23  
Three years ago Robert Chaffeur, a retiree living in the suburbs of Tacoma, Washington, was looking for a new place to live when he saw an online ad for Culdesac Tempe. Billed as “the first…
Read more

Biden goes west to talk about his administration’s efforts to combat climate change

07/31/23  
President Joe Biden will travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah next week and is expected to talk about his administration’s efforts to combat climate change as the region endures a brutally hot summer with…
Read more

It’s so hot in Arizona, doctors are treating a spike of patients who were burned by falling on the ground

By Jen Christensen   07/24/23  
It is so hot in Maricopa County, Arizona, that people are being brought into the emergency room with significant, sometimes life-threatening burns. For the past three or four weeks of this record heatwave, people have…
Read more

Phoenix Breaks Heat Record Set in 1974

By Jacey Fortin and Mary Beth Gahan   07/18/23  
On Tuesday, Phoenix reached a miserable milestone: It was the first time the city had measured 19 days in a row of 110-degree or more temperatures, busting a record set in 1974.
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Death Valley’s scalding temperatures draw visitors: What does 128 degrees feel like?

By Isabelle Butera   07/17/23  
While most of the Southwest was advised to take cover from heat, visitors flocked to Death Valley National Park to experience some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, according to meteorologists.
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Phoenix Roasts in Record-Breaking 110-Plus-Degree Heat, with No End in Sight

By Daniel Cusick   07/17/23  
Several million heat-tolerant Arizonans spent the weekend in air-conditioned semi-darkness, drawing their curtains shut as temperatures soared to nearly 120 degrees in one of America's largest metro areas.
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Arizona senator leans on astronaut past to call for climate crisis action amid blistering heat wave

By Paul LeBlanc and Morgan Rimmer   07/16/23  
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly on Sunday leaned into his experience as an astronaut to call for climate crisis action amid a blistering heatwave across the United States, including his home state of Arizona.
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How a Saudi firm tapped a gusher of water in drought-stricken Arizona

By Isaac Stanley-Becker and Others   07/16/23  
A megadrought has seared Arizona, stressing its rivers and reservoirs and reducing water to a trickle in the homes of farmworkers near this desert valley.
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Groups formally oppose hydro-storage proposals on Navajo Nation

By Knau Staff   07/14/23  
A coalition of tribal and environmental groups has submitted resolutions to federal regulators opposing three pumped hydro-storage projects proposed for Black Mesa on the Navajo Nation.
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Climate change, urbanization spur scorching Phoenix heat wave

By Jerod Macdonald-Evoy   07/14/23  
Phoenix is close to breaking a record streak for consecutive days with high temperatures at or above 110 degrees, and the heat will continue to become more enduring as urbanization grows and the impacts of…
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Burning pavement, scalding water hoses: Perils of a Phoenix heat wave

By Joshua Partlow   07/13/23  
Landscaper Eduardo Rios can feel those moments when the familiar in Phoenix morphs into the treacherous, as the skin under his straw hat starts peeling off his forehead, the heat radiating up through his steel-toe…
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When Will the Southwest Become Unlivable?

By Ruxandra Guidi   07/12/23  
In the desert, summer starts in earnest in May. It’s the beginning of dry season, with highs in the 90s—just a taste of the triple-digit days to come. Some people still venture out to trails…
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Extreme heat wave reaches Arizona and swelters southern U.S.: Live weather updates

By Matthew Cappucci   07/11/23  
The three most populous U.S. states — California, Texas and Florida — are facing the worst of a punishing summertime heat wave, with 54 million Americans slated to see triple-digit highs this week. Some of…
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In Arizona Water Ruling, the Hopi Tribe Sees Limits on Its Future

By Umar Farooq   07/07/23  
In September 2020, the Hopi Tribe’s four-decade effort to secure its right to water culminated in a court proceeding. The outcome would determine how much water the arid reservation would receive over the next century…
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VP Kamala Harris discusses climate change, water crisis during Arizona visit

By Alexis Cortez   07/06/23  
Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Arizona on Thursday for a meeting with Native American communities and Tribal Nations. This was the first time a sitting vice president had visited the Gila River Indian Community.…
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Solar sprawl is tearing up the Mojave Desert. Is there a better way?

By Sammy Roth   06/27/23  
High above the Las Vegas Strip, solar panels blanketed the roof of Mandalay Bay Convention Center — 26,000 of them, rippling across an area larger than 20 football fields.
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A grid collapse would make a heat wave far deadlier

By Maryn McKenna and Matt Simon   06/27/23  
Consider this nightmare scenario. For four days now, temperatures have soared past 110 degrees. Those able to stay home are cranking their air-conditioning while officials scramble to move the unhoused into cooling centers. Even at…
Read more

Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River case

By Adam Liptak   06/22/23  
The Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation on Thursday in a water rights case, rejecting the tribe’s suit against the federal government in a dispute over access to the drought-depleted Colorado River system.
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A Puzzle in Arizona’s Boom Towns: How to Keep Growing With Less Water

By Jack Healy   06/12/23  
As the mayor of an old farming town bursting with new homes, factories and warehouses, Eric Orsborn spends his days thinking about water. The lifeblood for this growth is billions of gallons of water pumped…
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How is climate change impacting Arizona’s water resources

06/10/23  
Enrique Vivoni and his team at ASU have been working with the Central Arizona Project for the past five years on solutions for Arizona’s watershed. Looking at aquifers, groundwater and surface systems, all of which…
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Arizona’s water troubles show how climate change is reshaping the West

By Joshua Partlow, Brady Dennis and Isaac Stanley-Becker   06/04/23  
Jay Famiglietti moved to Arizona this year after a career using satellites to study how the worst drought in a millennium was sapping groundwater beneath the American West.
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Arizona Limits Construction Around Phoenix as Its Water Supply Dwindles

By Christopher Flavelle and Jack Healy   06/01/23  
Arizona has determined that there is not enough groundwater for all of the housing construction that has already been approved in the Phoenix area, and will stop developers from building some new subdivisions, a sign…
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Arizona will halt new home approvals in parts of metro Phoenix as water supplies tighten

By Brandon Loomis   06/01/23  
The groundwater aquifers currently serving 4.6 million people across metro Phoenix are lagging behind growth on a trajectory that would run just short of projected needs in 100 years, according to a new state groundwater…
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Biden administration pauses copper mining project on Oak Flat, a sacred Apache site

By Lyric Aquino   05/24/23  
The Biden administration has put a pause on plans to erect a copper mine in Arizona on land known as Oak Flat, a site sacred to the San Carlos Apache and other Indigenous nations in…
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Western States Finally Strike Colorado River Deal. But The Hard Work Has Only Just Begun

By Alejandro De La Garza   05/24/23  
t one of Los Angeles’s main water treatment plants a few miles north of the Port of Los Angeles, a small-scale facility is demonstrating what might be part of the solution to the region’s water…
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California, Arizona and Nevada reach major deal to use less Colorado River water

05/23/23  
Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday reached a plan to significantly reduce their use of water from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years, a breakthrough in a year-long stalemate that pitted western…
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Arizona’s farms are running out of water, forcing farmers to confront climate change

By Ximena Bustillo   05/18/23  
Cassy England is a fifth-generation farmer in Pinal County, Arizona. For decades, her family has been a part of the vibrant agricultural community in the southern part of the state, growing cotton, alfalfa and grains.
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States near historic deal to protect Colorado River

By Joshua Partlow   05/17/23  
After nearly a year wrestling over the fate of their water supply, California, Arizona and Nevada — the three key states in the Colorado River’s current crisis — have coalesced around a plan to voluntarily…
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‘It’s gotten really ugly.’ A community of freedom-lovers squares off against climate change in the Arizona desert

By Osha Davidson   04/26/23  
When I arrived at Karen Nabity’s place in Arizona’s Rio Verde Foothills on a spring afternoon, she opened the door and flashed a big smile. “Oh good!” she said, laughing as she ushered me inside.…
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A wet winter won’t stave off the Colorado River’s water cuts

By Joshua Partlow   04/03/23  
The abundant snow in the Rocky Mountains this year has been a welcome relief, but is not enough to overcome two decades of drought that has pushed major reservoirs along the Colorado River down to…
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10 Places to See Wildflowers in the West

By Lauren Sloss   04/01/23  
With the arrival of spring, there’s a silver, or really, a multicolored lining to the extreme weather that has battered the west all winter: the promise of wildflower-filled weeks and months ahead, particularly in Southern…
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700 years of data points to Arizona having more near-future floods

By Hunter Bassler   03/28/23  
Climate change is expected to make Arizona's winters wetter in the coming years. This year's historic rain and snowfall may be a look into the future.
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By The Time Water Gets To Phoenix

By Arthur Keith   03/26/23  
“There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount , a perfect ratio of water to rock, water to sand, insuring that wide free open, generous spacing among plants and…
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S.Korea’s LGES revives Arizona battery factory with $5.6 bln investment

By Heekyong Yang and Hyunsu Yim   03/24/23  
South Korea's LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES) (373220.KS) said on Friday it would resume a stalled U.S. battery project with a $5.6 billion investment in Arizona to qualify for federal incentives rolled out under the…
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Wall Street is thirsty for its next big investment opportunity: The West’s vanishing water

By Lucy Kafanov   03/22/23  
Situated in the Sonoran Desert near the Arizona-California border is the tiny rural town of Cibola – home to roughly 300 people, depending on the season.
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An Arizona plant will pull CO2 from the air and trap it in concrete

By Maria Gallucci   03/22/23  
For the last two centuries, nearly all the concrete used in buildings, bridges, dams and roads has been held together with a key ingredient: Portland cement. The limestone and clay fusion is ubiquitous, inexpensive —…
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A ‘private dispute’ may forever change Arizona water law, experts say

By Hunter Bassler   03/16/23  
The bill raised a "red flag" for city water users in Arizona who predict it would pose a danger to groundwater aquifers throughout the state.
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Tensions emerge as a top Arizona official discusses tribes’ unresolved water claims

By Ian James   03/15/23  
Many of Arizona’s Native tribes have long-standing claims to water rights that haven’t yet been settled, and a discussion of efforts to negotiate possible agreements took center stage at a meeting of Gov. Doug Ducey’s…
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Simple solutions could reduce heat inequities in Phoenix

By YCC Team   03/15/23  
“By June, just about every day is going to be over 100 degrees,” says Agustin Gastelum of Rail CDC, a community development organization in Mesa, just east of Phoenix.
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Drought forces water cuts in Arizona town

By Alasdair Baverstock   03/14/23  
As climate change worsens drought conditions in many areas around the world, communities are struggling to adapt.
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Flagstaff students organize climate strike

By Abigail Kessler   03/14/23  
Friday morning, Flagstaff students gathered outside of City Hall for a climate strike organized by Flagstaff High School’s (FHS) Environmental Coalition.
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Research: hotter, drier conditions limit Arizona forest recovery from wildfires

By Alex Gonzalez   03/13/23  
(Arizona News Connection) New research has found hotter and drier climate conditions are making it less likely for forests in Arizona and across the Western United States to recover after wildfires.
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How do you grow crops with no water? A rancher on the Gila River is trying an old approach

By Jake Frederico   03/13/23  
A modest home sits alone on a stretch of dirt road about 25 miles from Gila Bend. In the backyard, Annie, a Great Pyrenees, her white fur desert-stained, retracts under the shade of a mature…
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Who gets harmed as the Colorado River changes?

By Jennifer Pitt   03/09/23  
National and regional media love a good fight, and lately a day doesn’t pass without a major news story or op-ed focused on Colorado River disagreements, particularly amongst the seven states of the Colorado River…
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Jaguars, leopard frogs, condors: Here are some of Arizona’s most imperiled species

By Jake Frederico   03/03/23  
Herds of bison graze on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, endemic fossil spring snails cling to rocks found only in streams in parts of the Coconino National Forest, and bald eagles spread…
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We are no longer in transition. The climate change future is here for food, ag and nature

By Jesse Klein   02/28/23  
For the land, water and farming sectors, we are already living in the climate crisis. Are you still talking about transition risk?
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Water, climate change, land protection are key legislative issues for environmental groups

By Jake Frederico   02/20/23  
As a 20-year megadrought intensifies the effects of climate change across the Southwest, causing shortages on the Colorado River, increasing the frequency and magnitude of wildfires and putting wildlife and human health in danger, the…
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Could Arizona’s new governor shift Colorado River politics?

By Jonathan Thompson   02/16/23  
The newly elected Democrat brings something that’s long been absent in Arizona water politics: common sense.
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Environmentalists grow frustrated as lawmakers cast shade on bills instead of schools

By Joan Meiners   02/15/23  
It was already warm for a February day when Vania Guevara, advocacy deputy director for CHISPA Arizona, stepped to the mic at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza near the state capitol with a dozen local environmental…
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As Climate Change and Overuse Shrink Lake Powell, the Emergent Landscape Is Coming Back to Life – and Posing New Challenges

By Daniel Craig McCool   02/12/23  
As Western states haggle over reducing water use because of declining flows in the Colorado River Basin, a more hopeful drama is playing out in Glen Canyon. Lake Powell, the second-largest U.S. reservoir, extends from…
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