Econexiones

TUCC heads into the realm of fiction with local writer Lisa Levine. We're treated to a live reading of her short story At His Limit before diving headlong into a discussion about ways of being, knowing and telling our stories (both at the rock wall and elsewhere). Without spirited, community-based nonprofits like Climbing in Color, Climbing Association of Southern Arizona, and the Arizona Women's Climbing Coalition, any local zeitgeist about diversity in our climbing community, stewardship of use areas, and women's empowerment through climbing would fall victim to spiritual drought. Check out their superb work by visiting their homepages, donating, or joining an event. And without readers, writers would do the same; for Lisa's most recent work in print, snag a copy of v.31 from the Sierra Nevada Review, a back issue of Manifest West: Women of the West, Manifest West: Transitions and Transformations or browse her free print + sound archives at her blog, Alluvial Dispositions. Lastly - thank you, friends, for your listening ears and minutes!

Nick kicks off 2021 with Dennis Caldwell, a local graphic designer whose boots have been on the ground for many environmental projects around southern Arizona. Specializing in aquatic species conservation, Dennis introduces us to a small but remarkably resilient cast of characters (including the desert pupfish, Chiricahua leopard frog, Huachuca water umbel, and Gila chub) as well as the often-unsung efforts to restore their habitat in the face of worsening drought. If you're curious about the ecological, as well as cultural, significance of many of these habitats, the NPS website for Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a good place to start...

TUCC ends 2020 with our longest episode yet. Karlyn Bradley (Tucson Organizer, Defend Our Future) and Nick get real about African-American experiences in the outdoors and grapple with the long shadows cast by white supremacy, systemic racism, and even anti-blackness in environmental work. These problems loom particularly large as many of us wind down a year filled with challenge and -- as Karlyn aptly points out -- grief. Carolyn Finney's book Black Faces, White Faces serves as the basis for much of our discussion, and you can read more about activist Vanessa Nakate (and her now-infamous erasure in an online photo) here. Interested in working with Karlyn as a guest speaker? Get in touch at: [email protected]

Nick interviews Catalina Ross, Energy Program Coordinator with the Sierra Club. Catalina helps to demystify the concept of global average temperature rise as well as the relationship between utility companies and sources of energy in southern Arizona. (Where is our electricity -actually- coming from? The answer may surprise you.) She also calls attention to the covert, but real, role that white supremacy and colonialism play in climate change impacts, including sea-level rise and the threats to island nations in the Pacific...

Nick interviews Ed Beshore, Co-Leader with Citizens Climate Lobby here in Tucson. Ed walks him through a variety of topics, including stimulus dollars, carbon-fee dividend, water scarcity, desertification, consumer spending habits, cow burps, and the odds that southern Arizona might look (and feel) more like Death Valley in a few decades if we don't get our emissions under control. Also -- middle school science experiments in Ed's hometown of Kearny, Nebraska!

Hey all! Nick here -- the podcast is on hold this week as I prepare for a new round of outreach with the Tucson Climate Project. This is a short update on my progress and what the future of TUCC might look like. Do check out TCP's November newsletter (as well as our recently published Project Guidebook), and hang tight -- new episodes will resume next week. Thanks for your patience, as well as your support!

Nick interviews Karen Peterson, a Tucson-based journalist and founder of Climate Tucson. The two acknowledge the uncanny similarity in their project's names before jumping into a discussion about the state of discourse around climate change in a year filled with coronavirus and social unrest. Karen was professionally reporting on global warming when Nick was still in middle school, so it's with ample lived experience that she contrasts what we were seeing then with what we are all experiencing now...

Nick interviews Daniel Peralta, Marco Burgoin and Jesus Carrillo, founding members of Mylpa Sociedad y Cultura. With close ties to the CENKO as well as the Colectivo Sonora Silvestre, the four embarked on a wide-ranging discussion about the importance (and legacy) of bacanora production in Mexico; the intersection of climate change, the arts, and social issues; Mylpa's efforts to foster cultural resilience in their community; and more.

Nick interviews Ruby, Dot, Iman, and Ursula; all students in Tucson and founding members of High Schoolers for Climate Justice. They discuss the group's recent presentation (!) at an NAAEE conference, as well as: ways to teach climate change effectively in the classroom; intersectionality and the environment; the real -- and deeply human -- stories they've encountered in a hotter-than-ever Arizona; and their outlook as youth activists. (Special thanks to Andris Rapa for technical support!)

Nick interviews Elena Greenberg and Lizbeth Perez, Program Coordinator and Intern Support Specialist with The Bio/Diversity Project at the University of Arizona. They discuss what of the U of A is doing to promote diversity (as well as equity, inclusion and access) in environmental science; the challenges of teaching online; the importance of BIPOC role models in STEM; and why Elena and Lizbeth are so invested in their work. Visit their website, find them on Instagram (@uabiodiversity) or Facebook (University of Arizona Bio/Diversity Project on Facebook), and support their very first crowdfunding campaign here: https://crowdfund.arizona.edu/project/22143