Stories - AZPM

A solar array used by Tucson Electric Power to add renewable energy to the grid, August 2019

TEP's energy plan under review

Assessing Tucson Electric Power's path to carbon neutrality and natural gas debate

Since the 1980s Tucsonans have replaced their green lawns with decomposed granite and opted for plants like palo verde trees and cacti, which can endure long periods of drought and extreme heat.

That green lawn may not be so green: Gas-powered equipment are heavy polluters

Gas-powered lawn equipment in Arizona emitted 445,908 tons of carbon dioxide in 2020, the polluting equivalent of putting 98,162 cars on the road, a new report says.

Ashton Johnson uses his drip torch during a prescribed burn operation in Kaibab National Forest on Oct. 5, 2023. Fire crews planned to burn around 2,300 acres of land that day.

Fighting fire with fire: How prescribed burns protect forests in northern Arizona

The prescribed burns in Kaibab National Forest are part of the U.S. Forest Service’s 10-year wildfire crisis strategy, which aims to combat wildfires in high-risk forest landscapes.

Regional and local leaders came to celebrate the kick off event for the new University of Arizona Western Environmental Science Technical Assistance Center for Environmental Justice (WEST EJC) at the Pima County Abrams Public Health Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday, Nov. 1.<br/><br/>From left to right: City of Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, EPA Regional Tribal Operations Committee Co-Chair Laura Ebbert, Regional Administrator for EPA Martha Guzman, Chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors Adelita Grijalva, Dean of the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Iman Hakim, Pima County Health Director Theresa Cullen, Deputy County Administrator, Francisco Garcia.

University of Arizona leads the way in western environmental justice initiatives

Empowering communities and bridging gaps: UA's role in transforming environmental equity

These two Mexican gray wolf pups and siblings were born at the Wolf Conservation Center in New York. They are considered "neonatal" and less than 14 days old.

Biologists are keeping a close eye on a rare Mexican wolf that is wandering out of bounds

This marks the second time the wolf — identified as F2754 — has ventured north.

Cattle grazing is ruining the habitat of 2 endangered bird species along Arizona river, lawsuit says

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Tucson targets seven grazing allotments spanning 15 miles along the Gila River.

City of Tucson's council chambers in downtown.

The Buzz speaks with Tucson City Council candidates

Candidates see streets, crimes and homelessness as the city's top issues.

The San Pedro River post-Monsoon rain. September 14, 2023.

Center for Biological Diversity demands action on depleting aquifer in Sierra Vista

Environmental advocates call for fair water use policies to save the San Pedro River.

Bands of discolored rock show that Lake Powell's water levels are lower than they have been for much of its past.

When a reservoir is more than just stored water

Reservoirs are a common solution to the seasonal ebbs and flows of river water. But, for some communities, they are so much more.

Effluent gushes out of the outfall, into the Santa Cruz River. The outfall of water is constantly flowing, but there is a diurnal fluctuation due to cyclical human water use.

Reviving the Santa Cruz River: A decade of clean waters and ecological resurgence

From stagnation to splendor: How wastewater innovation breathed life back into a desert oasis

Border Patrol agents patrol along a line of shipping containers stacked near the border Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022, near Yuma, Ariz.

Arizona border wall lawsuits dismissed, paving the way for environmental restoration

From legal resolution to environmental revival: Arizona's next chapter

Snow tops Mica Mountain, a peak in the Rincon range east of Tucson.

Tucson area experiences earthquake centered near Saguaro National Park-Rincon District

Early morning tremors leave Tucsonans wondering about seismic activity

Tyler Lansing Weaks and Kyra Kennedy as Paul and Corie Bratter in Arizona Theatre Company's production of Barefoot In The Park directed by Micheal Berresse.

Arizona Theatre Company invites you to run "Barefoot in the Park".

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Arizona Insect Festival returns to the University of Arizona; A look into how adaptive sports are building up Tucson's youth, and a post card from the 2023 Arizona Youth & Peace Conference.

Almost 100 years after the opening of Bisbee's Queen Mine, the Queen Mine Tours opened to the public in 1976. About 50,000 people visit the mine each year.

Water and Copper: How mining's history follows Arizona's feelings about water use in the state

Mining was Arizona's first billion-dollar industry. As we consider our state's economic drivers and their water use, we ask not only how much water goes into mining but what its aftermath does to water.

Male jaguar photographed in the Dos Cabezas Mountains Nov, 16, 2016.

Rare jaguar sighting sparks excitement in Arizona's Huachuca Mountains

Jaguar 3 'Sombra' possibly resurfaces in the Sierra Vista Ranger District in the Coronado National Forest

The U.S. - Mexico Border Wall near Sierra Vista.

Congressional watchdog describes border wall harm, says agencies should work together to ease damage

A report released by the Government Accountability Office offers the first independent assessment of damage caused by the building of more than 450 miles of wall.

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