Tribes say feds gave them run-around, not aid, after Gold King spill
WASHINGTON - Multiple federal agencies were unable to provide disaster relief to the Navajo Nation after the 2015 Gold King Mine disaster that spilled 3 million gallons of toxins into the Animas River, the tribe's president told a Senate panel Wednesday.
Arizona playwright brings stories of Black history to stage
PHOENIX – Larissa Brewington channels a black woman from seven decades back, demure in a black polka-dotted dress with a doily collar and cat-eye glasses perched on her nose, convincing her way into a whites-only Oklahoma law school in 1940s’ America.
Navajo power plant’s future uncertain, as natural gas costs fall
WASHINGTON - With record-low natural gas prices continuing to undercut coal, owners of the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in Page could decide this spring whether they can afford to keep operating the plant or have to shut it down.
Solar power brings light to some Navajo Nation homes
KAYENTA – Electrical power lines are nowhere in sight from Helen Salazar’s home. She lives on a dirt road in Monument Valley, part of the Navajo Nation. Throughout her life, Salazar has adapted to the challenges of living in a remote, off-grid home.
What’s the big idea? Calling on innovators to get rid of Phoenix trash
Phoenix is looking for people who know how to talk trash. As in, get rid of trash.
Putting the squeeze on trash in downtown Phoenix
PHOENIX – Solar-powered trash cans placed in downtown Phoenix compact and reduce trash, spur recycling and cut down on trash collections – and may herald a new way to get rid of trash, Phoenix officials say.
Lawmakers: Obama won’t OK Grand Canyon monument before leaving
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will leave office Friday without declaring a new 1.7 million acre national monument around the Grand Canyon, Arizona lawmakers said this week.
Western mayors talk water conservation, stay mum on drought allotments
WASHINGTON - Nearly a dozen Western mayors gathered Wednesday to discuss anything and everything "water" except the region's drought contingency plan - what Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton called "the 800-pound gorilla in the room."
Orphaned mountain lion cub grows into new life at Out of Africa center
CAMP VERDE – A mountain lion cub clings to a tree high above ground, malnourished and frightened.
Wading through the yuck, researchers study wastewater sludge for public health clues
TEMPE – Pristine white lab coats hang on a wheeled rack. Handwritten measurements and equations are crammed on whiteboards. And a long line of freezers are filled with containers of super-concentrated human waste.
January 4, 2017: Sustainability Special
Cronkite News special: Protecting the environment and energy opportunities
Arizona still a power in solar power, despite other states’ gains
WASHINGTON - A month after it announced plans to develop a new solar power plant in Gila Bend, Vasari Energy was back in November to double down on its Arizona investment, expanding the plant's capacity to power more than 7,000 homes.
