Public Workshop: Envisioning a Climate-Resilient Tucson

The Office of Mayor Regina Romero and the City of Tucson are pleased to invite you to a Public Workshop to inform and advance the development of Tucson’s forthcoming climate action and adaptation plan.  

 

Public Workshop: Envisioning a Climate-Resilient Tucson 

Tuesday, May 24^th, 2022 | 8:30-11:30 a.m. 

Tucson Convention Center 

 

REGISTER VIA EVENTBRITE 

 

We are inviting all Tucsonans to participate in this workshop to share their stories and ideas to help us envision and create a more climate-resilient Tucson. Your experiences and perspective will help us lay the path to not only make sure that we equitably reduce carbon emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, but also – and most importantly – to ensure that our city is resilient and thrives in the face of climate change. 

 

During this workshop, you will: 

• hear from Tucson Mayor Regina Romero regarding the City’s climate action and adaptation efforts to date; 
• learn more about Tucson’s forthcoming climate action and adaptation plan; and 
• share your stories, ideas, hopes, and priorities for the plan with the City and fellow Tucsonans. 

Background on the city's climate action up to date (if you'd like to prepare)

https://climateaction.tucsonaz.gov/?fbclid=IwAR3vHasBgMU6MXSwGczncFSbszza9I2IpBaAWAapmFbmcdwXTvxSxAQwOm0

We hope you will join us on Tuesday, May 24^th at 8:30 a.m. at the Tucson Convention Center for this event. Please register today via Eventbrite, and send any questions to climateactionplan@tucsonaz.gov. 

 

We look forward to seeing you there. 

 

Mayor Regina Romero 

 

Hola, 

 

La Oficina de la Alcaldesa Regina Romero y la Ciudad de Tucsón se complacen en invitarte a un Taller Público para informar y avanzar el desarrollo del próximo plan de adaptación y acción climática de Tucsón. 

 

Taller público: Imaginando un Tucsón Resistente al Clima 

martes, 24 de mayo de 2022 | 8:30-11:30 am 

Centro de Convenciones de Tucsón 

 

REGÍSTRATE A TRAVÉS DE EVENTBRITE 

 

Estamos invitando a todos los tucsonenses a participar en este taller para compartir sus historias e ideas y ayudarnos a visualizar y crear un Tucsón más resistente al clima. Tu experiencia y perspectiva nos ayudará a trazar el camino no solo para asegurarnos de reducir equitativamente las emisiones de carbono y adaptarnos a los impactos del cambio climático, sino también para garantizar que nuestra ciudad sea resistente y también prospere frente al cambio climático. 

 

Durante este taller, tú: 

• Escucharás a la alcaldesa de Tucsón, Regina Romero, hablar sobre la acción climática y los esfuerzos de adaptación de la ciudad hasta la fecha; 
• Aprenderás más sobre el plan de adaptación y acción climática de Tucsón; y 
• Compartirás tus historias, ideas, esperanzas y prioridades para el plan con la Ciudad y otros tucsonenses. 

 

Esperamos que nos acompañes para este evento el martes 24 de mayo a las 8:30 a. m. en el Centro de Convenciones de Tucsón. Regístrate hoy a través de Eventbrite y envía cualquier pregunta a climateactionplan@tucsonaz.gov. 

 

¡Esperamos verte ahí! 

 

Alcalde Regina Romero 

STOP HUDBAY, COPPERWORLD, ROSEMONT, SAVE THE SANTA RITAS

ROSEMONT HUDBAY AND THE SANTA RITAS

If you look at the river wash in the middle of this picture and follow it to where it bends to the left (west) what you’re seeing is the wash headed to the Santa Cruz River. That matters because since the wash becomes a feeder for a waterway during the monsoons, any construction that impacts its flow is governed by the U.S. Clean Water Act.

With the Clean Water Act impacts in mind, take another look at the photo and you’ll see in the foreground two large dump trucks working the soil. The one on the right is dumping its load onto the wash. The one on the left has a full truck bed of soil waiting its turn to continue blocking the stream. The work is being done on the west side of the Santa Ritas by Hudbay – the company that wants to build the Rosemont copper mine. The permit they’re working with is being challenged in court but despite that the work goes on pretty much daily. The court has not yet issued an injunction to stop it pending a full court decision.

The washes are called ‘ephemeral’ washes because they carry water only during monsoons. But they have in the past been covered by the Clean Water Act having been shown to be important to the overall health of the larger watercourse they feed. The Santa Cruz in this case. The overall project will have significant impact on both the eastern and western ridges of the Santa Rita mountain range.

This map shows where the proposed mine(s) will be located if approved. The red dots show where drone photos were taken.

The large black blob on the lower right hand side of the picture is the proposed Rosemont copper mine. On its immediate left edge is the ridgeline for the Santa Ritas – and the four smaller black blobs are where they want to dig mine operations on the western edge of the mountain. That’s where the current work is taking place – and is what you see in the photos.

The work is tearing up not only the stream system, but it’s already scarring the surrounding desert landscape. This drone photo shows clearly the impacts of even this very early work. If left alone to continue the work, the damage will not only be to the waterways, but to wildlife habitat as well.

The effort to stop the work is being led by three native American tribes and several environmental groups. Representative Grijalva chairs the House Natural Resources committee. They’ll also be taking a close look at what can be done to quickly stop the work. As these legal processes work their way through the system, Hudbay continues their work while opponents attempt to get a Temporary Restraining Order to halt the work. This is happening real time since once the damage is done, repairing the scar becomes problematic.

- From Steve Kozachik's May 9, 2022 newsletter More Information:

Clearing begins for big mine in Santa Rita Mtns.

https://arizonadailystar-az-app.newsmemory.com/?publink=0932c4bda_1348428

Hudbay intent on clearing acreage: Tries to duck suits by giving up permit

https://arizonadailystar-az-app.newsmemory.com/?publink=13c7d0a4e_134847d&fbclid=IwAR1zSyazHM-zZaZPIeu7v5WMk2_yjU4Ri5DsYZOp-eVJRYfDmsE4cvezFTg#.YnVW4VL4TpQ.facebook

What's Up with the Proposed Rosemont Mine?

https://www.sustainablelivingtucson.com/2018/10/find-out-whats-up-with-proposed.html

Sign the petition: Stop Arizona's voter suppression power grab

Arizona Republicans are hell-bent on passing voter suppression bills through the state legislature that assault our freedom to vote—and disproportionately hurt people of color.

While this a coordinated nationwide attack, Arizona has seen more such bills this year than any other state. A few have already passed the House, and are now in the Senate such as:

HB 2238 (Drop Box restrictions) would require drop boxes to be located in a facility at which election staff are present and monitoring the drop box. Otherwise, 24-hour video surveillance would be required. This defeats the purpose of drop-boxes.

HB 2786 (Assault on voter engagement) would severely restrict who can distribute an early ballot request form to voters. This is a direct assault on non-profit groups like Mi Familia Vota and Lucha Arizona who have successfully engaged Latino voters.

HB 2602 (Absentee voting) would eliminate emergency voting centers where voters can cast a ballot if they will be out of town or get sick on election day and have failed to return a mail in ballot, if they received one in the first place.

HB 2602 (Extreme vetting of voters) would create new, onerous requirements for the Arizona Secretary of State and county recorders to investigate and purge their voter rolls. County recorders would have to monitor drivers' licenses issued in other states and address changes monthly, such as affirm and reaffirm U.S. citizenship status.

We know what this is all about. Arizona Republicans are scared that their state is changing, and they are hell-bent on restricting the growing political power of Black and brown people.

And with the U.S. Senate having failed to override roadblocks to passing federal legislation to protect our freedom to vote, we are left having to defeat these outrageous bills in Arizona.

Sign and send the petition to your Arizona State Senators: VOTE NO on HB 2238, HB 2786, HB 2602, HB 2617 and all other outrageous attacks on our freedom to vote.

You can find the Daily Kos petition here: 

 
https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-stop-arizonas-voter-suppression-power-grab?one

Here is a list of Arizona State Senators and their contact information:

https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/?body=S

Should we burn trash at Los Reales "Sustainability Campus?"

Los Reales 'sustainability campus' plan 

Included (below) is a link to an article by Sustainable Tucson's Zero Waste Working Group chair Kevin Greene. Please, read this important article and share it widely on your email lists and social media pages. "Like" it on Sustainable Tucson's Facebook page and Zero Waste Tucson.

Burning trash won't fix problems - by Kevin Greene, chair of Sustainable Tucson's Zero Waste Working Group

Our country has a trash problem. We live in a disposable society, one which doesn't value the importance of materials and resources. On average, every American produces close to 5 pounds of solid waste daily. For decades, we've relied on landfilling as the main option for managing items we throw away. In fact, the U.S. landfilled about 146 million tons of waste in 2018 alone.

Here in Tucson, the Los Reales Landfill serves as the primary disposal site for waste materials. The 370-acre landfill is owned and operated by the city of Tucson through its environmental and general service department. Each day, the landfill receives approximately 2,300 tons of waste.

Last July, Tucson Environmental and General Services (TEGS) announced a plan to convert the Los Reales Landfill into a 'sustainability campus' to help address global warming. TEGS has produced a creditable vision of the campus as a place for technological innovation that would divert waste from the landfill.

There are promising ideas in the campus plan. Unfortunately, as currently written, the plan would make waste-to-energy (WtE) a key method for reducing our dependence on landfilling.

WtE is a high temperature process where energy (typically heat and electricity) is generated using waste materials as a fuel source. Incineration is the most common type of WtE in the U.S.

WtE also includes gasification and pyrolysis systems, which attempt to convert waste materials into combustible fuels and other feedstocks.

Creating energy from waste sounds like a win-win. However, a closer look reveals WtE comes with significant downsides. When we burn materials to produce energy, the resources used to make those products and packaging are destroyed.

This means we must continue to extract more resources from the Earth to make new products.

WtE is not climate-friendly like solar and wind energy. When plastics, paper and other materials are burned, their stored carbon is released into the air.

In 2016, U.S. waste incinerators generated the equivalent of 12 million tons of carbon dioxide, more than half of which came from plastics. True sustainability requires getting those carbon molecules back into new products, not burning them to add to the climate crisis.

WtE companies often assert that by burning waste, they are helping to reduce landfill emissions like methane, a potent greenhouse gas. But the methane produced at landfills largely comes from decomposing organic materials like food and yard waste. A more direct way to avoid methane emissions is to prevent food loss and turn inedible scraps and other organic materials into compost.

Converting wastes like plastic into fuel for vehicles and other equipment has the same climate drawbacks as traditional waste incinerators. Most plastics are manufactured from petrochemicals, sourced from oil and natural gas. This means plastic-derived fuel functions as a fossil fuel, and burning it generates greenhouse gases and other air pollutants.

Studies have shown that recycling plastic saves more energy — by reducing the need to extract fossil fuel and process it into new plastic — rather than burning it.

Producing plastic from recycled resins instead of manufacturing it from scratch also reduces the carbon footprint of plastic production and contributes to a circular economy that keeps materials in use. In contrast, burning plastic perpetuates our 'take-makewaste' linear economy. This moves us away from zero waste solutions that allow people to use less plastic and to reuse and recycle more through sustainable methods.

Now is not the time to lock ourselves into a costly, high-carbon future by incinerating waste.

We can't burn away our waste problem. The focus should be on waste prevention, in which we rethink the use of disposable packaging; reduce food waste; support reuse, repair and resale initiatives; and improve the collection of materials for both recycling and composting. More and more cities across the country are taking this zero-waste approach, and we can, too.

https://arizonadailystar-az-app.newsmemory.com/?publink=06f762552_134842b

Weigh in On Rio Vista Nature Reserve Park Master Plan

Open Town Hall for Rio Vista Nature Reserve Park Master Plan is tonight, April 20th from 5pm-6pm

Rio Vista Natural Resource Park, 3974 N. Tucson Blvd. • Tucson AZ

The City wants to hear from you about the Master Plan for Rio Vista Natural Resource Park
Wednesday, April 20th 5pm at the Park Entrance off Tucson Blvd.
for more information and to take the survey:

https://rillitobendna.org/index.html

Urge your Legislators to vote NO on these bad bills

These bills have passed through all committees and are scheduled for a floor vote. Please, contact your Legislators to vote NO on these bad bills. 

SB1211, sponsored by Nancy Barto (R-15), would require public schools to post a list of every single item teachers use or discuss with students. The burden this places on already overworked, underpaid Arizona teachers cannot be overstated. After filing a written complaint, if the school board or administration fails to address the issue to a parent's “satisfaction,” the parent (or any other entity) could sue — a recipe for baseless litigation. Private schools and microschools are exempt. Contact your representatives to OPPOSE.

HB2161, sponsored by Steve Kaiser (R-15), would require public schools to give parents access to all their children's records unless the information is subject to abuse reporting law. The bill language is disturbingly broad; any parent would be allowed to sue if an issue was not resolved to their "satisfaction." This is part of a host of partisan attacks from national conservative think tanks on K-12 schools, intended to breed conflict between parents and teachers and fuel baseless lawsuits. OPPOSE

HB2439, sponsored by Beverly Pingerelli (R-21), would get Arizona into the book-banning business by requiring school boards to approve every single book purchase in advance. Cookie-cutter attempts to ban books in schools are being proposed nationwide. As one columnist points out, the push is politically motivated, based on “​​a nightmare vision of schools as filtered through focus groups and political messaging tests… None of this is really about improving education, of course — it’s about political power.” OPPOSE

HB2498, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-12), would ban state and local governments from requiring anyone to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Appears aimed at Pima County, which requires the vaccine for employees working with vulnerable populations (and recently reported a 92% vaccination rate). Unvaccinated Arizonans are 31 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than their vaccinated counterparts. Passed on party lines with an amendment to exempt government-run healthcare institutions. OPPOSE

HB2616, sponsored by Joseph Chaplik (R-23), would require public district and charter schools to obtain opt-in consent for each student in order to require mask usage. This bill is not only an untenable burden on public health, but a local issue best left to public health experts and school boards, not the state legislature.  OPPOSE

To find out who your legislators are, first look up out your legislative district:

https://irc-az.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=424810a4667049388ef6df4f0c73098b

Find your legistors and their contact information here:

Representatives:  https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/

Senators: https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/?body=S

Weigh in on Tucson Water's One Water 2100 Master Plan

The One Water 2100 Master Plan is ready for action. Tucson Water is developing a long-range plan for managing water resources and infrastructure over the next eight decades. They’ve been analyzing existing conditions and establishing a roadmap for the plan. They need your input to help shape Tucson’s long-range water plan! This Master Plan will be informed by the public and stakeholders who participate online or by attending outreach events throughout the community.

They are gearing up for the community engagement campaign. This is your opportunity to shape our water future. 

More information about One Water Master Plan:

https://www.tucsononewater.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery