Month: March 2025

Categories
Meeting

Mining in the Age of Climate Change

Tuesday, April 8, 6:00-7:30 pm

YouTube: https://youtu.be/X-hUf59_0u4

Arizona has long been known and treasured for its beautiful scenic wild places, many of which are held sacred by indigenous peoples of the state. At the same time, many of those scenic places are also sources for one of Arizona’s distinctive “5 Cs”: Copper. Because copper is increasingly in demand for production of many electronics and clean energy devices, a sharp conflict arises between environmentalists intent on preserving wild places and businesses interested in profiting from mining. Quite a few communities in the state, including several near Tucson, are grappling with this conflict, the subject of our next Sustainability Spotlight program.


Join us for an overview of some of the actual or potential impacts of mining in Southern Arizona and the conflict between environmental risks and destruction caused by mining and the need for metals used for clean energy to fight destructive climate warming. Our panel will present an overview of some of the mining laws we all should understand (e.g., the 1872 law, still in effect) and what kinds of reform are long overdue, as well as an update on the recently proposed Mining Regulatory Clarity Act. We’ll also get a rundown of mining impacts that communities are particularly concerned about — health risks, effects on water supply, air pollution from particulates and toxins, and more. Then we’ll focus on the area closest to Tucson where the mining/environment conflict can be seen, namely, the Santa Rita Mountains, with a look at legal current challenges against Hudbay and Copper World, as well as state agencies. We’ll learn how we, as concerned citizens, can help. There will then be time for Q&A.

Our panelists will be two representatives of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas: Rob Peters, Executive Director, and Anna Darian, Director of Advocacy & Community Engagement, and Curt Shannon, Interim Director, Arizona Mining Reform Coalition.

Categories
Event

Sustainability in Challenging Times:  A Call to Action

Like so many, we in Sustainable Tucson have been considering how to respond to current attacks on our environmental health, national parks, progress on climate change, eco-justice and Constitutional order. 

Therefore, we are hosting an in-person Call to Action on this coming Saturday, March 29, 3-5 p.m., to connect Tucson environmental groups and concerned citizens. Hand-in-hand, we can rediscover the scope of local, life-sustaining work, reassess threats to well-being, and identify actions to defend earth.

Goals
1.  Generate a menu of actions people or groups can consider or commit to;
2.  Form one or more teams to take on specific projects;
3.  Begin planning a Spring Teach-in to engage more citizens in protecting 
programs, people, and places.

Saturday, March 29, 3-5 p.m.
Shalom Mennonite Fellowship
6044 E 30th St., Tucson

RSVP here!

We hope that this meeting will lead to the development of an ongoing coalition of environment, sustainability, and climate champions dedicated to the common good. If you know someone who needs to be at this meeting, please pass this invitation along or share the flyer below. Thank you for engaging in this time of action!  

Transportation and parking
Bike and car parking in lot
Common entry: west door off parking lot
Mobility impaired: park NE corner of parking lot; enter at N door
SunTran Route 17, exit at 29th & Zuni

Refreshments will be provided.

Call To Action event, Saturday March 29 3-5 pm at Shalom Mennonite Fellowship, 6044 E 30th St., Tucson
Categories
Meeting

The TEP Franchise:

What you need to know before the vote

Tuesday, March 11 @ 6:00
Youtube <https://youtu.be/F4zjDlgbQ7o/zt3JqfFU63I>

2025 is the year for TEP to renew its franchise agreement with Tucson.
 
According to Joe Salkowski, Senior Director, Communications and Public Affairs at TEP, the franchise agreement “isn’t a contract to provide service in the city; it just sets terms for [TEP’s] use of public rights-of-way within city limits. We’d like a new agreement, since those terms make our operations easier and less costly for customers.”
 
The agreement, of course, will be negotiated in the context of a swiftly warming planet.  With energy requirements climbing in the summertime as demands on air-cooling increase, and with energy uses increasing year-round to power more online servers, does TEP’s current business model chart the best possible path to a sustainable future? 
 
Are there alternatives to that model that could soften the global-warming impacts of energy production in southern Arizona? Developing the upcoming Franchise Agreement is an opportunity to consider these questions and fine-tune our models for the benefit of all.
 
Our speakers on March 11 will address the prospects for a strong partnership between the community and TEP. Strategic investments can increase resilience and sustainability in our city. Renewing the franchise agreement is an opportunity to align on those objectives. In this dialogue, we hope to shed light on the potential of franchise agreements to build stronger, sustainable partnerships.

Ron Proctor is a legally documented seasonal migrant moving between Tucson and Maine. He is a sustainability practitioner tempered by local positions he has held, including Mountain/1st Ave Neighborhood Association President, founding member of Lend A Hand Senior Outreach, recipient of a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the U of A, Core team member of Sustainable Tucson, past lead of Tucson’s Citizen’s Climate Lobby, member of Greater Tucson Climate Coalition, and past Co-Chair of the City of Tucson’s Climate Change Committee during the Rothschild Administration.

Garrett Weaver is a lifelong resident of Southern Arizona and Tucson. He works as an engineer and also volunteers his time for Citizens’ Climate Lobby of Greater Tucson and serves on the Tucson Commission on Climate, Energy, and Sustainability. He holds a Master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Arizona.

Garrett works towards sustainability solutions in Arizona by increasing public participation in government, advocating for policies to increase renewable energy production and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. He believes voting is very important, and that a strong democracy depends on an informed electorate.

As Director of Public Affairs for Tucson Electric Power, Steven Eddy represents and advances company and utility policies through relations with government agencies, trade associations, and community stakeholders.

A native Tucsonan and University of Arizona graduate, Eddy has been with TEP for 13 years. Prior

to that, he held positions in land use planning, real estate development and economic development. Eddy is active in the Tucson Conquistadores and the Centurions.  He also serves as chairman of the District Four Board of Adjustments.

An avid outdoor enthusiast, Eddy believes that young people who enjoy nature will appreciate that Tucson is “a bicyclist paradise that offers two of the most treasured assets in America for cyclists, runners and hikers: Mount Lemmon and The Loop.” The environmentally aware will appreciate, he adds, that TEP is at the center of clean energy transformation.