2012 Winners!
News
Environmental variability and global change are discussed more and more frequently in news articles and programs as the general public becomes increasingly aware of the rapid environmental transformations taking place around the world. The Institute of the Environment produces general interest articles about current UA research relevant to the environment, spotlights that chronicle the work of IoE faculty, and other articles, including a series on drought in the Southwest. The most recent articles are listed below. Older articles and links to UA News press releases also are available in the News Archive.
Latest Updates
The UA Office of Sustainability has completed a climate action plan to track the UA's greenhouse gas emissions and provide concrete solutions to reduce them. Many efforts already are under way, with some involving faculty and students using the campus as a living lab for sustainability.
UA researcher Rafe Sagarin discusses his new book, Learning from the Octopus: How Secrets from Nature Can Help Us Fight Terrorist Attacks, Natural Disaters, and Disease.
Arizona Illustrated: The Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the UA has amassed nearly three million samples, and a new study of the Arizona/Mexico border region by UA researchers takes a look at water in the desert.
Watch Arizona Illustrated 05/10/2012 on PBS. See more from Arizona Illustrated.
La Niña has transitioned to ENSO-neutral conditions, as expected, but it remains in flux. Expect dry conditions until the monsoon begins in late June or early July.
Jon Krosnick, a social psychologist at Stanford University, spoke at the UA on April 19. The video of his talk also is posted at iTunes U.
"Last Call at the Oasis," a new documentary, recounts the stories of the most water-stressed regions in the U.S. One expert interviewed, the UA's Robert Glennon, frames society's view of water: "We think of it as the air," he said, "infinite and inexhaustible."
Large portions of Arizona and western New Mexico are forecast to have above-normal significant fire potential now through August, according to a new report. Significant fire potential refers to the likelihood that a wildland fire will require additional resources from outside the area in which the fire originated.
UA researchers are investigating bacterial eating habits as part of a $1 million study to determine the environmental fate of newly developed munitions. One important goal is to reduce injuries and fatalities among troops who handle explosives.
Relief from expanding and intensifying drought may not come until the monsoon begins this summer, but it is unclear when the monsoon will begin in earnest or how much rain it will deliver
UA chemical and environmental engineering professor Shane Snyder's team paired up with Good Housekeeping to test whether the common water filters found in refrigerators and pitchers are actually doing their jobs.