Making Arizona Articles

The University of Arizona is helping communities contribute to decision-making on water resources in the state. Professor Sharon Megdal with the UA Water Resource Research Center talks about getting indigenous peoples involved and how their knowledge can be transferred to cities coping with water concerns.

Bruce Tabashnik, a Regents Professor of Entomology whose discoveries helped eradicate the invasive pink bollworm from the United States and Mexico, is one of 120 new members elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.

The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bridgestone, focuses on growing and processing guayule (pronounced why-OO-lee), a hardy, perennial shrub that could be an alternative source of natural rubber.

Maria is a trilingual international student interested in studying the intersection between language and psychology. Her interests in environmental sustainability sparked as she saw the differences between countries’ perspectives towards going green. Working for AIR was her first step into the environmental field and learning more about the climate crisis through her role has made her realize that there’s still hope for people to restore the planet’s health. She’s learned that there are many things we can do to protect our planet both collectively and individually.

Efforts are underway to wean the university off fossil fuels by 2040 or sooner. As a first step toward that goal, the Office of Sustainability is leading the development of the university's first Sustainability and Climate Action Plan.