Arizona Republic panel examines climate change threats, solutions
As wildfires rage in the West, water supplies decline across the region, extreme temperatures bake Arizona and heat-related deaths rise in Phoenix, experts brought together by The Arizona Republic and azcentral to discuss climate change agreed that action needs to be taken.
Jennifer Vanos, assistant professor and sustainability expert at Arizona State University, said climate change-related deaths caused by issues such as extreme heat exposure are “completely avoidable” if the right steps are taken.
Joining Vanos on the panel were Bruce Babbitt, former governor of Arizona and former U.S. secretary of the Interior; Karletta Chief, associate professor and environmental researcher at the University of Arizona; and Emma Robbins, director of the Navajo Water Project.
The discussion, hosted by senior environmental reporter Ian James, touched on topics like extreme heat exposure, water availability and management, vulnerable populations and youth activism.
Babbitt, who helped Arizona pass its landmark groundwater management act in 1980, said lawmakers need to address water issues again in the face of changing climate. Outside the urban areas of Phoenix and Tucson, there is virtually no water management, he said, even as drought deepens across the West.
“This drought is here to stay, it’s a part of climate change,” Babbitt said. “Outside of Phoenix and Tucson we don’t have water management and I think that the Arizona Legislature has got to take that up and manage supplies so there will be enough.”
Robbins, whose group works to bring water to tribal communities, said the lack of water among indigenous people will only grow more dire as climate change further dries the landscape. She said the government should honor its commitments to tribes and agree to expand supplies.
“It’s important to convey the severity of it,” she said. “When we talk about it, it’s framed around the fact that climate change is not only affecting us as humans and not only our sisters and brothers from all other ethnicities and cultures but it’s affecting us as Navajo people and our culture.”
Anton L. Delgado is an environmental reporter for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Follow his reporting on Twitter at @antonldelgado and tell him about stories at anton.delgado@arizonarepu blic.com.
Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.