Phoenix forestry guru can put a price on trees

Leaves aren't the only things blowing in the wind. Some trees may have price tags hanging from their branches.


Conservation conversation gets heated at hearing to renew park fund

WASHINGTON - Both sides agree that the Land and Water Conservation Fund should be restored, but they could not agree Wednesday on what the new fund should look like or how to spend the $900 million it receives in a typical year.


Water experts set recommendations for Arizona’s future

Arizona has managed its water supplies for decades as the state has grown, but as the drought reaches its 15th year, the state needs to do more to ensure there is water for the future, according to officials at the 107th Arizona Town Hall.

Town Hall water photo

ASU scientists are piloting drones over the desert to track invasive African grass

Clad in neon vests and sun hats, Brenton Scott leads a team of researchers through the desert landscape of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and a web of trails used mostly by horseback riders and mountain bikers who know how to find them.

Researchers Ben Stinnett and Brenton Scott pilot the drone over the desert landscape. (Photo by Ty Scholes/Cronkite News)

Senate hearing: More should be spent preventing wildfires

Because the length of the Arizona wildfire season, experts and some Senate members say more funding is needed for prevention.


Big horn sheep return to Catalina Mountains

Twenty-nine big horn sheep have a new home in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson.


School garden grows sustainable students

TUCSON – A whistle blows and little feet run through the hallway and out to the open courtyard of Manzo Elementary that contains the school’s garden. A frenzy of chatter and chicken squawks fill the warm November air.

A child waters plants

More than 75 years later, Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision lives on at Taliesin West

SCOTTSDALE - From the southern slope of the McDowell Mountains, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio still look out over the Valley, a place the famous architect called the “top of the world” after he built it in 1938.


Artificial trees: How ASU scientists are hoping to reverse global warming

Scientists at Arizona State University are developing new technology capable of capturing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, a task they believe is paramount to current efforts to reduce emissions.


Recycled orchestra turns trash into musical treasure

More than 500 people attended a concert by young Paraguayan musicians playing instruments made of recycled trash after a screening of the documentary “Landfill Harmonic” at the Scottsdale International Film Festival.

Tania Vera, violin player, Fabio Chavez, Orchestra director and Evelyn Riveros, saxophone player with the Recylced Orchestra peformed on opening night at the Scottsdale International Film Festival.

ASARCO, feds agree on $150 million cleanup for Hayden smelter

WASHINGTON - ASARCO will fund up to $150 million in pollution improvements at its Hayden smelter and pay millions more toward local environmental projects to settle federal government charges that the plant violated Clean Air Act standards.


Colder temperatures and pollution can bring more problems for asthma patients

Most Arizonans look forward to the cooler winter air and scattered showers. But asthmatic patients, such as Arizona State University student Haddi Meyer, find this time of the year the most challenging.

asthma picture