News – Arizona

Third Act Arizona mourns the passing of environmental advocate Congressman Raúl Grijalva

Diana Liverman — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 23:23:30 +0000

Third Act Arizona mourns the passing of Congressman Raúl Grijalva who represented southwest Arizona (CD 7) for more than 20 years. He advocated for social justice, environmental protection and climate action and for many years was the ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources. As a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors he led support for the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. His congressional web page https://grijalva.house.gov/issues/environment/ states:

“We all deserve to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live on land free from contaminants and pollution. Throughout my time in public service, I’ve put environmental justice at the center of everything from infrastructure and economic development to our current efforts to address the climate crisis. Arizona is at the center of the environmental justice and climate justice movements and often disproportionately experiences the deadly heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires. To solve the climate crisis, we must continue transitioning our economy away from one reliant on fossil fuels to a new green economy based in renewable energy that creates millions of new green jobs. At the same time, we must continue protecting our public lands, safeguarding our biodiversity, and working with communities impacted by environmental and climate justice issues to remedy past wrongs”.

We are grateful for his service to our region and beyond

Arizona’s clean energy boom: 18,700 new jobs at risk if incentives are cut

Steve Steve Schmidt — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 23:18:44 +0000

Article from AZMirror

Repealing, gutting, or even freezing the federal investments that are propelling the U.S. to the forefront of clean energy innovation would set our country back and threaten the livelihoods of the millions of Americans who work in clean energy.

Article Link HERE

THIRD ACT ARIZONA PARTICIPATES IN ENVIRONMENTAL DAY AT THE LEGISLATURE

Diana Liverman — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 14:48:57 +0000

On February 12th, five members of Third Act AZ (Floyd Bienstock, Betty Roth, Rhonda Bannard, Steve Schmidt

and Kurt Reuter) attended the Environmental Day at the Legislature at the state capitol grounds, organized by the Grand Canyon chapter of The Sierra Club. We had a Third Act AZ table at the event (see photo), along with approximately 30 other environmentally focused non-profits. It was a good opportunity to educate attendees of all ages about Third Act, as well as a great networking opportunity with the other organizations at the event. Some of us were also able to meet with legislators of our various legislative districts to share our priorities and concerns with them, in particular with regard to water, extreme heat and voting. All in all, it was an excellent opportunity to get the word out about Third Act AZ!

BIL and IRA spending information showing investment in Arizona

Diana Liverman — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 20:36:25 +0000

This interactive site shows where investment from the infrastructure and inflation reduction acts has occurred, including major investments in Arizona

https://grist.org/accountability/climate-infrastructure-ira-bil-map-tool/

Trump Wants to Kill Clean Energy. He’s Too Late.

Steve Steve Schmidt — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 01:57:15 +0000

Guest Essay By Michael E. Webber

Dr. Webber is a professor of public affairs and engineering at the University of Texas.

Los Angeles Wildfire Catastrophe, the Climate Crisis and the Future of Public Policy

Steve Steve Schmidt — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 23:09:37 +0000

On the CounterPoint website (originally broadcast on WPKN a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station), Michael Richardson talks about the real-world impact of the climate crisis we see now in the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events across the globe. He assesses the incoming Trump administration’s plan to implement destructive climate policies and what our listeners can do to express their opposition effectively. Link HERE

Being in action in responding to the recent election

Steve Steve Schmidt — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 16:36:41 +0000

Articles related to the recent election and how to respond:

10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won

and

The Strongman Fantasy (text and audio)

Tucson Unified School District approves Climate Action Plan developed by Arizona Youth Climate Action Coalition

Diana Liverman — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:27:25 +0000

TUSD approved aggressive Climate Action Plan that was developed and lobbied for by the youth climate coalition – AZ Youth Climate Action Coalition (AZYCC):

https://www.azyouthclimate.org/tusd-climate-action-resolution

GrayPAC Canvassing opportunities

Steve Steve Schmidt — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 03:47:44 +0000

As we approach election day, the single most effective way you can influence the outcome of this election is to Get Out the Vote by canvassing voters. We want to make this final push and leave it all on the field, to create a future we’ll be proud to leave our children and grandchildren. We’re sending additional opportunities to canvass in towns and cities across your state, hosted by partners on the ground.

Canvass for Amish Shah (AZ-01) near Phoenix, AZ

Various locations and times

Canvass for Kristen Engel (AZ-06) near Tuscon, AZ

Various locations and times

Canvass for Environmental Voters with Environmental Voter Project

Tuscon, AZ | Nov. 2 from 9:00–11:30 AM

Phonebank for Jonathan Nez (AZ-02)

Virtual | Oct. 30 from 6:00–8:00 PM

_____

Some of you may have never canvassed before. It can feel a little intimidating or scary to put yourself out there—and being a small part in a larger machine can feel alienating sometimes! We are asked to connect intimately across huge differences. The scale can seem disheartening—this is a big country!

In this final week, your individual canvassing outing may only earn a few votes. But in aggregate, your efforts—showing someone how to Vote Early, reminding another to plan time off work, tallying a voter who has moved away and doesn’t need to be chased—will save Election Day volunteers thirty seconds here, five minutes there, such that they can reach the right voters, secure high turnout and win the fight.

We’ve highlighted local progressive champions in every state who are fighting for a stable climate and secure democracy, while helping Kamala Harris, Senators and Congresspeople win both chambers—sign up now so we can finish this great work together.

And for ongoing local action beyond Election Day, sign up for the Third Act Arizona Working Group’s separate mailing list!

In Solidarity,

Third Act Arizona

Social Movement Research Survey Request

Steve Steve Schmidt — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:06:11 +0000

I’m currently working with a team of researchers at American University. We are studying the perception of social movement tactics and are collecting survey data before the upcoming election. The survey only takes a few minutes and responses are completely anonymous (This project follows IRB protocol 2024-37). Take the survey HERE.

Please note the deadline is November 5, 2024.

Dana R. Fisher, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity

Professor, School of International Service, American University

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Chair, Political Sociology Section, American Sociological Association

www.danarfisher.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-r-fisher/

Instagram: @ApocalypticOptimist; Twitter: @Fisher_DanaR;

pronouns: She/Her