Sustainability

WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency doles out billions annually in response to tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters, but the deadliest disaster goes largely unfunded - extreme heat, cited as the cause of death for about 100 people a year in Maricopa County alone.

PHOENIX – Phoenix is considering accepting private donations to plant more trees along streets and in public spaces. But who would decide where those trees go, and who would make sure they stay healthy?

GLENDALE – Potassium-based granules that suck up water and release it when needed are being injected into ASU West soccer fields, which use 11 million gallons a year.

PHOENIX – Conservation and innovation, along with historic partnerships among the Colorado River Basin states, will be needed to eliminate the difference between what’s been promised and what’s actually in the riverbed.

WASHINGTON - The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service said it plans to take the Kanab ambersnail, a tiny snail found in just three sites in the Colorado River watershed, off the list of endangered species in light ot new evidence that the snail is not genetically different from other, more common ambersnails.

PHOENIX – When Western leaders divided up the life-giving waters of the Colorado River in the 1920s, they overestimated how much water was available. That “structural deficit” of 1.5 million acre-feet plays a role in the river’s dire situation today.

PHOENIX – Scientists at Arizona State University and the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff are working on a new Mars rover that they hope will be the first to bring samples back to Earth.

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration waived environmental and other regulations on nearly one quarter of Arizona's border with Mexico last year to ease the way for border wall construction, a review of government documents shows.

PHOENIX – Decreasing water levels in white pelicans’ natural habitats are forcing the wetland birds to migrate to find refuge in the Arizona’s maintained lakes.

WASHINGTON - They may have turned out the lights, but the party's not over at the Navajo Generating Station and Kayenta coal mine. The facilities' owners face years of decommissioning and cleanup and possible decades of environmental monitoring of the sites, which closed for good this fall.

MARICOPA – Drones are monitoring some crops to help save water while gathering detailed information that can help with crop cultivation and monitoring soil conditions.