allen-charmley highlights the groundwork being done by individuals and organizations like digdeep, a community-led initiative that strives to find solutions to providing water to the thousands who are without it everyday on the navajo nation. allen-charmley connects with the navajo water project as well as a student change maker to learn just how much tó éí iiná, or water is life. not only does this mini-documentary display the effects of climate change in rural parts of america, it also spotlights how lack of accessible water within indigenous communities can be especially detrimental during a pandemic.

special thanks to the navajo nation, digdeep and the planet forward team for making the production of this video possible

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correction: the lower third graphic which reads “jaden redshirt” should instead read “jaden redhair.”

editor’s note: this short film was produced as part of the planet forward-comcast nbcuniversal sustainable storytelling fellowship. 

however, the central arizona project is working on several initiatives to make arizona’s water supply more reliable. one of those initiatives is a recent partnership with an israeli company called n-drip. according to n-drip’s chief sustainability officer, seth siegel, their technology brings a new irrigation system that could help save 50% of the water used in arizona’s agriculture.

luke strominger writes:

as a floridian and beachside resident, i value the importance of the environment in our everyday lives. without a sustainable environment, our economy will depreciate. each year millions of tourists travel to visit our pristine beaches, resulting in economic prosperity across the state. issues like sea-level rise and severe weather threaten the economic success brought by them. finding innovative market-based approaches and utilizing natural solutions to their greatest potential is key to solving these issues. for these reasons, i’m excited to visit glasgow and attend cop26 and gccs with the american conservation coalition. 

world leaders gather at cop26 to collaborate tackling climate change on a global scale. time and again these international discussions have inspired grand quotes and foreboding predictions over fruitful action. therefore, it’s incredibly important for the conservative point of view to be not only present but heard. conservatives seek pragmatic and commonsense solutions that can be acted upon now without the strain of bureaucracy. one of the leading conservative voices at cop26 is rep. john curtis, founder of the conservative climate caucus. he will be leading a delegation there, showing that both ideological groups are engaged on the climate. historically, conservatives have led on these issues. one such accomplishment was the enactment of the environmental protection agency under the nixon administration. 

there will be over 100 exhibitors and 200 events at cop26. given this, i plan to learn from and share my experiences with attendees and exhibitors, who are taking action in their communities. every region of the world has its own environmental challenges and natural solutions. it’s important to understand them in order to formulate an effective overall strategy. this is especially true when discussing a global approach to climate change. 

through my experiences in florida, i’ve seen how limited government, free markets and natural solutions have all intertwined to form an effective conservative approach. targeted state funding has helped protect our natural solutions, like the everglades, and increased our resiliency to sea level rise and hurricanes. the free markets have helped mitigate effects, such as mote marine laboratory, which has restored 100,000 corals in florida’s coral reef, an ecosystem that has suffered in part due to climate change. 

having said that, local action is the basis for global cooperation on climate change. actions like cleanups, forums, and events with local officials all play a role. it not only increases one’s knowledge of the issues surrounding their area but also motivates others to continue spreading awareness leading to the multi-tiered approach demonstrated in florida. if this is a focus of discussion at cop26, i believe we can truly 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 by having an understanding that tackling climate change should not be a one size fits all approach but a global partnership that takes every region’s challenges and solutions into account.

clay robinson writes:

arizona is ground zero for environmental action. the grand canyon state is growing at an exponential rate, both in population and industry, increasing our need for innovation in the energy sector and new technology for water storage and conservation capabilities. as an activist with the american conservation coalition, i look forward to visiting glasgow to attend cop26 and gccs to engage with on these issues and bring what i learn back to arizona.

as a native californian, i’ve experienced water shortage first-hand and the effects it has on the agriculture industry and residential population. for a majority of my childhood, i lived in a severe drought and learned at a young age to conserve water. when i moved to arizona, i had an understanding that water conservation would be just as important, especially in the desert. as arizona continues to grow, we need to manage our water efficiently and create new technologies that reduce waste.  

then there’s the emerging energy question: can arizona sustain its growth while providing quality, clean, and cost-effective energy supply? this is where cop26 and gccs will prove to be crucial to our future activism and policy advocacy in the state. the opportunity to hear from world leaders and organizations committed to solving the same environmental issues we face in arizona at this summit will be an invaluable experience.  

we have the opportunity to capitalize on the momentum happening in arizona. i’ve already seen how a market-based approach has been successful. arizona farmers are developing technologies that reduce water consumption, arizona’s competitive economy has invited several electric vehicle companies to produce the next solution in transportation, and our universities are working to sequester carbon from the atmosphere using carbon capture technology. innovation is alive and well in the grand canyon state, but there’s still more we can do.

there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to climate change. that’s why we need a market-based, innovative approach that focuses on issues in a local context. the american conservation coalition and its partners in the united kingdom and australia can play a key role at the summit by offering a competing perspective to the progressive narrative — one that works and has been proven to be successful. 

how can the conversation in glasgow help arizona find climate solutions to water and energy? global engagement will lay the foundation for local action in communities across our country, including arizona, because it presents a unique opportunity to learn from leading scientists, activists, and government officials who have taken action on these issues. the experience in glasgow will prove to be invaluable to our work in arizona as we build our strategy to advocate for water security and clean energy.

moving the planet forward will require more than rhetoric—it means taking action. the alarmist attitude will not solve climate change. rather, it will be a combination of common sense solutions and bipartisan conversations that will change the direction of our environment, especially in arizona.

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about the authors:

luke strominger is a 2020 graduate of the university of central florida, and clay robinson is a sophomore at arizona state university. both are activists with the american conservation coalition and based in florida and arizona, respectively.

children are our future, as the song goes, and it turns out they are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. unfortunately, temperatures continue to rise as a result of climate change. multiple factors put children at a higher risk of heat illness or exhaustion, including an absence of school heat policies and a lack of resources — in addition to children’s inability to identify when they are starting to overheat.

the good news is there are many solutions that we have identified through our research in south phoenix, arizona, that could be implemented to help reduce the impact of rising temperatures on children’s health.

extreme heat is dangerous to children because their thermoregulatory systems are still being developed, which influences their ability to recognize how hot/cool their bodies actually are, and in turn negatively impacts their classroom performance, health, and cognitive abilities. 

with so many other challenges facing children today, we need to give educators the tools to create solutions that can help reduce the compounding effects of increasing temperatures.

the challenge is schools often lack the appropriate resources for preparing youth and staff to manage the negative impacts of extreme heat. problems such as tight budgets, old infrastructure, and gaps in awareness of the issues and resources available prevent schools from taking action. 

therefore, we are studying how schools in south phoenix are adapting to high heat, and what they perceive are the most important elements of supporting schools to prepare for heat. 

our vision is to create heatready schools: those that are increasingly able to identify, prepare for, mitigate, track, and respond to the negative impacts of schoolyard heat. in collaboration with the city of phoenix’s heatready city program, our goal is to focus on community-level heat action plans that are correlated to city-wide plans to help boost the connectivity of mitigation and adaptation strategies. 

during our research, we conducted surveys and interviews and identified some potential solutions to the extreme heat that schools and communities experience. 

one of the most arduous challenges for schools experiencing extreme heat is funding for resources, such as shade coverage to increase adaptability. 

our interviewees and survey panelists offered their recommended solution to this, which is applying for grants to build shade structures and partnering with funders who share like-minded goals and values. 

in addition to partnerships for funding, it would be beneficial for a heatreadyschool to partner with local environmental and health organizations such as arizona sierra club, hue, arizona forward, dignity health, and phoenix children’s hospital. in doing so, heatreadyschools can access outside resources to fund school-wide initiatives, promote awareness of extreme heat, and educate community members about how heat affects them and how it will be resolved over time. a collaboration would also help alleviate and redistribute the weight of responsibilities that school staff carry already, creating more space for efforts to improve heat readiness within their school.

mcneal, arizona—for monarch butterflies, it’s all about the milkweed. without it, the iconic butterflies have no place to lay eggs and no place for their larva to feed – especially on their stupendous annual migrations. 

monarch populations have declined steeply in the past decades for a variety of reasons, including loss of habitat. to reverse the trend, the western association of fish and wildlife agencies in january instituted the western monarch butterfly conservation plan, a 50-year effort to help the monarchs bounce back. 

some of the first steps are being taken in arizona.

at whitewater draw wildlife area near mcneal one day last month, 25 volunteers spent five hours planting milkweed to create waypoints for monarchs migrating to southern california and west-central mexico from the northern u.s. and canada – a trip that can stretch 3,000 miles each way.

the wildlife area – which is the winter home to more than 20,000 sandhill cranes – is a wetland nestled amid the arid plains of southern arizona, about 100 miles southeast of tucson. it has damp soil in places – ideal for several species of milkweed, a stalky, green wildflower of the genus asclepias.

monarchs leave the northern u.s. and canada in early fall to spend the winter on the california coast and in the sierra madre occidental in mexico, the u.s. department of agriculture says. each trip takes four generations of butterflies to complete.

the planting project was set up by arizona game & fish department as its part in the overall western monarch butterfly conservation plan, which is meant to help reverse the 74% population decline of the monarch in arizona, california, idaho, nevada, oregon, utah and washington.

the population of monarch butterflies overwintering in california last january was the lowest on record, with only 28,429 butterflies – an 85.2% decline from the previous year and a 99.4% decline from the number observed in the state in the 1980s.

bill van pelt, the grassland coordinator for the western association of fish and wildlife agencies, oversees interstate programs and projects focused on grassland biomes. 

“what these states did is came together, to come up with ideas to try to boost populations and give them areas for nectarine or feeding, and then waystations or layover areas and to take their next step on their migrations,” van pelt said.

other regions where the monarch populations are more permanent, such as california, focused on building out roosting areas – rest stops for the migrating monarchs, which only travel in daylight. for arizona, it means planting several varieties of milkweed through a collective effort among game & fish, the southwest monarch study and the gila watershed partnership.

whitewater draw was the first of several arizona locations where milkweed will be planted, but that wasn’t originally planned. a dry monsoon season for arizona delayed the planting at every other location, but whitewater draw is a special case, said cheri boucher, a project evaluation program specialist for game & fish.

“we had originally planned to do a number of these during monsoon season and, you know, august, september, october, but this past monsoon season was one of the driest in history,” boucher said. “so we have postponed most of the events that we had planned until december, january, february.”

whitewater draw already has a maintained water source for the sandhill cranes, which spend their time in shallow, muddy waters, socializing and avoiding predators. not needing to rely on rainfall to ensure the milkweed survives makes whitewater draw special, but the process of planting will be the same for all the six other locations. 

the morning starts with a quick orientation from steve plath, the nursery manager for gila watershed partnership, about milkweed and what it takes to get the plants to grow. gail morris, a coordinator and conservation specialist for southwest monarch study, also explains how milkweed fits into the monarch life cycle.

the process itself involves taking immature milkweeds and planting them in moist soil on the edge of a water source. the five different varieties of milkweed have adapted to different amounts of water, meaning they get planted in a ring type formation along the banks. the plants survive best in moist dirt, so digging the holes is a muddy operation.

“we’re all having fun, you know, digging in the mud and planting milkweed,” boucher said.

since the southwest monarch study began actively monitoring the monarch population in 2008, morris has seen a heavy decline, even considering normal population fluctuation. climate change affects the butterflies, he said, but the impact is really felt through the decline of milkweed and other native plants.

“climate change isn’t directly … like, the sun isn’t killing the butterflies,” morris said, “but it’s killing the plants that they eat, right? it (climate change) can affect the monarchs if the temperatures get too high, it can affect it in two ways.”

rising temperatures also can slow the rate of caterpillars’ growth, affecting the monarchs’ entire migration schedule, morris said, adding that higher winter temperatures could destroy monarch habitats used today.

for the volunteers, the idea of helping make a better future for the butterflies was more than enough to get them to come out. ariana tamayo remembers seeing monarchs in mexico as a child, an experience she wants future generations to have.

“they hang out in trees and it’s almost like a honeycomb of them,” tamayo said. “it’s pretty amazing.”

video by melanie porter/cronkite news

for boucher, the volunteer response has far exceeded expectations.

“i couldn’t have anticipated how many people were excited about this program,” she said. “when the press release went out, all of the volunteer slots were filled within a matter of hours, and that’s over 250, you know, volunteers that have signed up to help out various wildlife areas around the state.”

—

related story

population of migrating monarchs dwindling, but experts say it’s not all doom and gloom

arizona game & fish hopes all the milkweed survives from these plantings, but as the first year of this program, it’s about learning as well. boucher said the department will be back out next year to learn and adapt.

“with any habitat rescue duration effort, you do expect a certain amount of mortality,” she said, “but we’re hoping to learn from the plants that we’ve put in today.” 

officials plan to record how many of each milkweed species survived in each location, which will help them adjust to ensure a higher survival rate in the future, boucher said.

weather permitting, game & fish will plant milkweed in cornville, springerville and safford in january and february. other planned sites are near buckeye, black canyon city and bullhead city.

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this story is part of elemental: covering sustainability, a multimedia collaboration between cronkite news, arizona pbs, kjzz, kpcc, rocky mountain pbs and pbs socal.

rothers, like millions of others across the globe, attended last month’s climate strike along with her children and members of her all gender, secular family scouting organization. the navigators typically organize camping trips and engage in community service work, however, they decided it was important to participate in this year’s climate march in tucson, arizona. 

“i thought it was important enough to let my kids know [climate change] is going on in the world” explained rothers. 

parents like rothers are starting to realize that trash pick-ups and recycling are not enough. while the previous generation was told that they can help protect the environment by picking up after yourself, today’s youth were born into a planet in crisis that is seemingly overwhelming to manage. 

“i don’t want my children to be terrified of their future. i want them to be aware,” rothers said

that’s why rothers decided to bring her two children, veronica and oliver, to the climate march in tucson.   

youth like janet’s eight-year-old daughter veronica believe it is important to participate in events like the climate march. veronica believes protecting the planet is important because “kids in the future can have a happy life where they don’t have to worry about the world’s climate changing.” 

oliver, veronica’s 10-year-old brother, believes “we have a perfectly good planet and we should protect it at all costs.” 

janet rothers first had the idea of bringing her children and the navigators to the strike after watching a ted talk by 16-year-old swedish climate activist greta thurnberg, where she encouraged youth around the world to attend the climate strikes and demand climate action.

she asked oliver and veronica if they thought it would be appropriate to invite the navigators club to join, to which oliver said, “yes! navigators and all of (our school) should go!”

“i would rather have a chance of doing something to help than to not do anything” oliver explained.

“many parents thanked us for doing this,” rothers said. 

positive word of mouth spread and classmates of oliver and veronica joined the crowd where they watched older youth armed with megaphones make demands to their city’s leaders for climate action.

to rothers, it was important to teach her kids that “they do not have to be a passive observer” in the face of this climate crisis. 

the event left a lasting impression on her children. 

oliver said he learned that, “we are stronger together.” 

“i might be able to help even though i am just one person,” veronica said.

rothers finds it frustrating that climate change doesn’t dominate the headlines every day. 

“i’d like to see a tipping point,” she said. “i’m hoping for that tipping point to happen sooner rather than later.” 

according to the guardian, youth from an estimated 185 countries made a unified and urgent demand for global action against change; time will tell whether or not this moment in history will serve as a tipping point for climate action. 

despite the challenges and pessimism, young people like veronica and oliver are starting to realize they have the power to take action against climate change if they do so together. 

“right now we are the ones who are making a difference. if no one else will take action, then we will,” said greta thunberg during the strike in new york. “we demand a safe future. is that really too much to ask?”

phoenix – tourism continues to expand in arizona, a boon for jobs, development and tax revenue, but the growth presents challenges to preserving the natural beauty drawing visitors to the state.

“it just really appears that there is a problem as far as people management,” said alicyn gitlin of the sierra club. “but it’s a fine line because you want people to have access to this place that belongs to all of us.”

the tensions between economic driver and environmental impact are revealed in the numbers of dollars and people, both of which reach into the millions. tourists generate jobs and tax revenue, some of which is spent on advertising to lure even more tourists and build the roads and other infrastructure needed to accommodate them. selfie culture and social media increases such strains as littering and overuse on the most picturesque sites, and visitors forego the excitement of exploring the unfamiliar in favor of social media likes.

in 2018, for the first time in arizona history, more than 45 million tourists generated more than $1 billion in state tax revenue, surpassing the record set the previous year by 8%, according to the arizona office of tourism. these visitors help support about 200,000 jobs and provide $7.4 billion in earnings for arizona workers.

flagstaff is one of the primary destinations for visitors, enticing tourists with its craft beer scene, connection to lunar missions, route 66 nostalgia, proximity to lowell observatory and, above all, its status as a portal to arizona’s natural splendors. the city’s proximity to the grand canyon, the nation’s largest ponderosa pine forest and the red rocks of sedona is a large part of why visitors from across the globe spend more than $500 million each year in flagstaff, according to a 2017-18 tourism study from the arizona office of tourism.

debbie johnson, director of the arizona office of tourism, said tourism spending in arizona reduces each resident’s tax burden by more than $1,300 per year.

“tourism revenue is a big chunk of their government provided services,” johnson said. to maintain their same level of service for residents “in coconino county, it would be $3,000 more a household.”

in flagstaff, 5 million annual visitors provide 8,000 jobs, said meg roederer, spokeswoman for discover flagstaff, the city’s tourism agency. and much of the money collected from the bed, board and beverage tax that tourists pay is spent developing infrastructure to help absorb the increased traffic.

“if you’re dining in our restaurants, if you’re staying in our hotels, you are going to be contributing to our economy,” roederer said. “our parks and recreation department gets a portion of it, public art … and arts and sciences education programming for students.”

some of the money also goes back into the city’s visitor center, tour guides and media operation roederer said.

where’s that tree i saw on instagram?

gitlin, conservation coordinator for the sierra club grand canyon chapter, worries the promotion of natural wonders in arizona could threaten the picturesque wilderness tourists are clambering to see for themselves.

“people are seeing more photos online and they are going to specific locations instead of wandering and distributing themselves around,” gitlin said. “there are a few sites that tend to get a lot of impact.”

gitlin was hesitant to give examples, lest the publicity attract further traffic to the sites, but she did mention end of the world, a popular campsite in coconino national forest. the often promoted site sits at the end of a 29-mile road, which gitlin warns makes proper safety and etiquette even more of a priority.

people crave the experience being sold to them through marketing and advertising, she said. when everyone gravitates to the same locations, the heavy foot traffic may trample the local flora or lead to increased litter.

the power of marketing can pressure local infrastructure beyond its capabilities.

“flagstaff started marketing itself as … arizona’s winter wonderland,” gitlin said. “and all of a sudden, all of these people came up and they wanted to play in the snow. there’s really not a lot of infrastructure to direct people to places where they can safely play in the snow. and so what they end up doing is crowding the highways, crowding the roads, and participating in unsafe activities.”

for gitlin, this advertising problem isn’t limited to tourism boards. the rise of selfie culture and social media plays a huge part in tourists flocking to iconic wilderness sites.

“i’ve heard of hiking guides who have said their clients come in, and they’re like, ‘where’s the tree?’” she said. “you know, the tree that everybody’s got the picture of on instagram?”

some people have noticed this problem and have creatively utilized social media to address it.

“a lot of people i know have recently started using ‘#somewhere,’” gitlin said. “which is, i think, a really nice way of inspiring people to go out and explore on their own.”

she noted that the plugged-in culture can also negate the whole point of visiting these spots for tourists, too.

“that’s not why you’re here – to get to get that one picture,” she said. “people need to visit these areas and be able to turn off their electronics and be in nature. i mean, there’s so many health effects that are being shown from being in places where you’re surrounded by natural landscapes.”

leave no trace

with the museum fire currently burning more than 1,800 acres in the dry lake hills area north of flagstaff and limiting access to many sites in the coconino national forest, gitlin said overcrowded areas are an even greater problem.

still, many of the strains tourists put on nature can be mitigated through education.

“it’s a tricky question, because you want to get people into nature. you want them to learn to love it,” gitlin said. “but you also want them to love it in a way that’s going to leave it better than when they came.”

she wants to see schools teaching respect for nature at an early age; she is even more eager to see adults practice good stewardship.

simple things like sticking to paths, “picking up your trash, taking time to look at the stars, instead of having to have a campfire every time you’re outside,” would go a long way, she said.

“if you do have a campfire, make sure that you have ample water and a shovel on you that you’re able to put it out,” she added. “put your hand on it and make sure that it’s cool to the touch before you leave it, not leaving it burning overnight.”

discover flagstaff is aware of the potential problems with increased tourism and seeks to be proactive, promoting “eco-tourism,” a sustainable approach to visitation.

“as far as preservation of our area and responsible tourism, we do market a ‘stay and play responsibly’ messaging for our visitors,” roederer said. “if you pack it in, you pack it out, you leave no trace.”

discover flagstaff’s website touts many of the city’s environmental accolades, from its water-saving practices to its designation as the u.s. city with the cleanest air by the american lung association. flagstaff is also the first international dark sky city, a recognition of its efforts to curb light pollution. the website also maintains a list of eco-friendly attractions, hotels and restaurants.

discover the new, preserve the old

gitlin said government involvement has led to some positive changes in northern arizona. she cites the rearrangement of the south rim of the grand canyon from a frustrating parking lot into its current configuration as one such success.

“grand canyon created a different system where they built a visitor center that was back off the rim,” gitlin said. “people had to get out of their cars and walk through a plaza and walk by some beautiful monuments and landscape areas.”

this allowed the flow of tourists to be better directed, offsetting problems with overcrowding. it also had other benefits.

“i see people slowing down, taking their time, they’re in a better mood. they’re looking around, they’re enjoying themselves,” gitlin said. “that is a really good success story. because it’s an example of where, instead of trying to promote convenience and failing on it, they went a totally different route and promoted an experience.”

businesses like those on discover flagstaff’s website also play an important role in educating visitors. hotels touting their eco-friendly water practices remind customers to pay attention to their consumption habits, while outdoor companies teach consumers to be good stewards of the land, gitlin said.

improving business, personal practices

still, more could be done.

gitlin wants to see bike companies teach trail etiquette, including staying on trails, to their customers. she also said companies could work sustainability into their business models.

“i would love to see someone start a business in flagstaff, that rent out sleds, and you get a deposit back when you return it because we have a huge issue is broken plastic slides all over the forest,” gitlin said.

otherwise, gitlin wants tourists to use the information available to protect the natural beauty that attracts them, especially if it means putting an end to her biggest pet-peeve.

“throwing their orange peels down,” gitlin said. “it drives me nuts.”

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this story is part of elemental: covering sustainability, a multimedia collaboration between cronkite news, arizona pbs, kjzz, kpcc, rocky mountain pbs and pbs socal. follow them on twitter.

republished with permission. see the original piece at cronkite news. for more stories from cronkite news, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org. 

washington – democratic lawmakers beat back a series of republican amendments wednesday before advancing bills to restrict mining around the grand canyon and on tribal lands in arizona and new mexico.

in a sometimes emotional meeting, the house natural resources committee gave preliminary approval to bills banning mining on 1 million acres around the grand canyon, taking uranium off the list of “critical minerals” and setting a 10-mile mining buffer around chaco canyon.

the approval came after three hours of attempted amendments by republicans, who said the bills in their current form are doomed in the senate.

“the three bills we are marking up today are going nowhere,” rep. rob bishop, r-utah, said at the opening of the hearing. “they’re not going to be considered in the senate. they’re not going to be signed by the president. we are simply spinning our wheels once again.”

republicans said the mining bills will hurt the local economy while standing in the way of national and economic security for the u.s. as a whole.

but rep. deb haaland, d-new mexico, pointed to the cultural and sacred sites that would be protected by the bills, noting that tourism and outdoor recreation offer greater economic potential for the region than mining would.

“grand canyon national park was responsible for $667 million in consumer spending around the park and supports over 7,000 local jobs,” she said during the hearing, adding that a bureau of land management report found that mining would only support about 295 jobs in the region.

more importantly, haaland said, the measures will protect the health of area residents after decades of mining on the navajo nation left a “toxic burden” that shows up in higher risks of cancer.

“we cannot allow people to suffer from these preventable impacts simply to do the bidding of the mining industry,” she said in a statement released wednesday.

the bills passed out of committee on mostly party-line votes, that followed mostly party-line rejections of 14 amendments, the majority of which were proposed by rep. paul gosar, r-prescott.

gosar argued that the bill prohibiting mining on federal land around the grand canyon alone would mean the loss of up to 4,000 potential jobs and billions of dollars worth of economic activity and tax revenues for the region.

“it’s copper, it’s mining, it’s where you get true wealth to come from,” gosar said.

the uranium bill would reverse a trump administration plan that put it on a list of non-fuel minerals that are critical to the nation’s economy and defense, and could be threatened if imports from other countries were cut off.

president donald trump ordered the departments of interior and defense to develop the list in 2017, and the commerce department last month released a plan for ensuring a reliable supply of the 35 minerals on the list.

gosar at one point offered an amendment to rename the bill the “enhancing soviet and chinese dominance act,” arguing that not having a ready stockpile of uranium runs the risk of making america dependent on potential adversaries.

“making ourselves completely reliant on other countries like russia, china … is exactly why this bill should be changed directly,” gosar said.

but democrats argued that uranium has no place on the list of “non-fuel” minerals the president ordered up and that there are decades of uranium stockpiles available for military needs.

rep. tom o’halleran, d-sedona, said in a statement after the vote that uranium mining “throughout northern arizona has impacted the health and wellbeing of families across the region, and communities are still grappling with the legacy of this activity decades later.”

“we cannot allow these precious lands to be turned over to mining operations that could irreparably harm the area,” said o’halleran, a co-sponsor of the grand canyon mining bill.

grijalva rejected gop claims that not all tribes support the bills, which he said have wide support. he cited a poll that showed the majority of those surveyed support a mining ban around the grand canyon and believe that protecting public lands and waters is essential to the future economy and quality of life in arizona.

“there is national support and there’s certainly support from tribal nations from across this country, and in arizona itself, considerable and strong support,” grijalva said.

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this story is part of elemental: covering sustainability, a multimedia collaboration between cronkite news, arizona pbs, kjzz, kpcc, rocky mountain pbs and pbs socal. follow them on twitter.

republished with permission. see the original piece at cronkite news. for more stories from cronkite news, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org. 

cottonwood, arizona – fighting nature with nature seems like a good idea – unless nature doesn’t care about geography.

today, the effects of a federal decision made 20 years ago to use asian beetles to slow the spread of an invasive shrub across the west are reducing nesting habitat for an endangered songbird – the southwestern willow flycatcher.

the u.s. department of agriculture’s animal and plant health inspection service, introduced tamarisk leaf beetles from china and kazakhstan around the west to kill tamarisk trees, also known as salt cedars. some of the beetles were released near moab in eastern utah.

“the goal of their program was to control tamarisk,” said greg beatty, a biologist with the u.s. fish and wildlife service who has led flycatcher recovery efforts since 1999. “reduce it. kill some plants. i don’t think they anticipated that it would kill all tamarisk, but that it would reduce its abundance.”

the beetles did their job, stripping the tamarisk of its feathery, green canopy, which often kills this fast-growing deciduous shrub. the tamarisk was introduced in the 1800s from eurasia as an ornamental, for use in windbreaks and as a way to control stream-bank erosion.

the aphis program wasn’t supposed to release beetles within 200 miles of where southwestern willow flycatchers nest. the birds can be found throughout the west; in arizona, around roosevelt lake and along the upper gila river. experts calculated even if the beetles migrated south toward arizona, the bugs would not survive the difference in climate.

but beetles don’t follow rules.

“in retrospect,” beatty said, “seems pretty clear there wasn’t really any type of geographical boundary that would have kept them where they were at.”

from the virgin river in southwestern utah and into the grand canyon and its tributaries, the beetles spread into arizona, beatty said.

“it’s happened faster than anybody would have expected because we didn’t expect them to be here,” he said.

tamarisk is reviled across the west. it is notorious for crowding out native vegetation, effectively choking riparian areas, particularly along dammed waterways. some scientists say it hogs water, leaving less for native species, although that’s in dispute. it’s considered a noxious weed in new mexico, montana, south dakota, wyoming and texas.

the usda terminated the biological control program in 2010. but now there’s concern over what will happen to flycatcher habitat in arizona.

the primary nesting habitat for the flycatcher, which was listed as endangered in 1995, is in willow trees surrounding riparian areas. however, researchers have found that flycatchers also use tamarisk.

robin silver, co-founder of the center for biological diversity in tucson, said flycatchers depend on foliage to protect their nestlings from the scorching arizona sun.

“even if there are willows, they’re still dependent on the salt cedar or the tamarisk,” silver said. “so to denude or kill that tamarisk right now is really putting too much on the flycatcher for them to be able to survive long term.”

the songbirds – which are brownish-gray with white wing stripes and measure about 6 inches from beak to tail – are also faithful to their nesting sites, returning year after year.

the birds still are listed as endangered. in an email, beatty said the flycatcher population is measured by territories, which include southern california, arizona, and new mexico. there are 1,200 to 1,600 territories, and the u.s. fish and wildlife service estimates there will be a breeding pair per territory. that puts the number of breeding pairs at 600 to 800.

the center for biological diversity successfully sued aphis in 2013. the court’s ruling found that aphis did not comply with the endangered species act in the conservation of an endangered species.

aphis declined to comment for this story, but the agency did provide documents that state the “greater than anticipated natural and intentional human-assisted movement of the beetle caused it to spread into flycatcher habitat.”

as for the future of the flycatcher, beatty is concerned that habitat loss will have significant impacts.

“i think we’re going to have greater booms and busts … the status of the population will decline as the beetle expands throughout its range.”

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this story is part of elemental: covering sustainability, a new multimedia collaboration between cronkite news, arizona pbs, kjzz, kpcc, rocky mountain pbs and pbs socal. follow them on twitter.

republished with permission. see the original piece at cronkite news. for more stories from cronkite news, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org. 

flagstaff – universities in arizona are stepping up how they handle food waste and single-use plastic. all three of the state’s universities have robust composting programs to reduce what ends up in landfills. but northern arizona university has expanded its efforts to include reusable food containers, and it banned plastic straws this year. now, flagstaff businesses are taking similar steps.

“i see all of the plastic in the ocean and i really want to make sure nau isn’t contributing to that at all,” said senior emerald mccormick, chair of the student run organization nau green fund, which provides funding for projects that reduce the university’s environmental impact. the funds come from a fee nau students pay for sustainability.

in january, mccormick implemented a system at all the campus dining halls that allows students to use “green” food containers that resemble takeout containers. students pay a one time $5 fee for a token, which allows them to check out a container. when they’re finished eating, students return the containers to a machine that stores them until they can be washed, and they get their token back.

“a lot of students are really excited for it. that’s why we expanded it all across campus because they kept asking for it,” mccormick said.

not much of the waste from the food containers goes into the trash. at least 90 percent of nau’s dining hall food waste is composted. after four stages of processing, the waste ends up in piles of compost hidden behind campus.

“all that soil just goes back to nau,” said nau campus-dining sustainability coordinator gaby galvan. “we use it on landscaping. we use it in community gardens. we use it in our greenhouses. it goes to the community members. so it’s just all recycled back into our community.”

composting saves the university on garbage disposal costs. last year, more than 300,000 pounds of food waste made it into the compost piles. that number could be more this year, as campus dining now uses straws that are 100% compostable.

galvan said it was “pretty easy” to get rid of small, disposable plastic on campus, “and also at the same time create a behavior change, and get students to start thinking if they really need all of the plastic disposables that they use throughout the day.”

the behavior change is spreading to flagstaff businesses. laura diez is the nau student who wants to get half of flagstaff businesses straw-free by 2020. she also leads the straw free flag campaign, which is an effort to eliminate single-use plastics.

“i really just am looking for some sort of mindfulness around straws. … obviously i hope to see those eradicated pretty soon,” diez said.

one local business, single speed coffee cafe, no longer uses plastic straws. instead, patrons can get a paper straw and pay extra for a plastic cup.

“nau is always going to be a really big influence on all of us and their ban kind of makes it more known to the students as well,” said zachary shouse, manager of single speed. “it kind of starts to be a normal thing as people go around.”

at least 10 businesses have signed the straw free flag pledge, and about 30 businesses now provide straws by request only, diez said.

arizona state university has similar programs in place. food is composted and plastic straws are not available in dining halls.

the university of arizona is exploring alternative straw options, according to trevor ledbetter, who directs the office of sustainability. the university also has a composting program in partnership with tucson.

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this story is part of elemental: covering sustainability, a new multimedia collaboration between cronkite news, arizona pbs, kjzz, kpcc, rocky mountain pbs and pbs socal.

republished with permission. see the original piece at cronkite news. for more stories from cronkite news, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.