skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, April 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

At least 4 killed in Oklahoma tornado outbreak; 10 shot outside Florida bar; AZ receives millions of dollars for solar investments; Maine prepares young people for climate change-related jobs, activism; Feds: Grocery chain profits soared during and after a pandemic.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Ukraine receives much-needed U.S. aid, though it's just getting started. Protesting college students are up in arms about pro-Israel stances. And, end-of-life care advocates stand up for minors' gender-affirming care in Montana.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

More rural working-age people are dying young compared to their urban counterparts, the internet was a lifesaver for rural students during the pandemic but the connection has been broken for many, and conservationists believe a new rule governing public lands will protect them for future generations.

AZ Conservationists, Civic Leaders Back Creation of Civilian Climate Corps

play audio
Play

Tuesday, June 15, 2021   

PHOENIX -- An idea from the past could soon return to Arizona and other states to battle the ravages of climate change.

Groups such as the Sierra Club, Arizona Interfaith Power and Light and others are endorsing the potential of the Civilian Climate Corps, a part of President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan, modeled after the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

The original CCC, as it was known, deployed millions of young people in the 1930s to build and maintain infrastructure in national parks and on public lands.

Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, said a Civilian Climate Corps could protect parks as big as the Grand Canyon or as small as a neighborhood playground.

"It's a key provision that really helps to put some focus where we need it, which is on climate and on investing in actions to build resiliency," Bahr asserted. "As we've seen in Arizona, climate change is not something in the future. It is happening now."

Biden is calling for $10 billion to launch the program, which would employ thousands of young people across the country to protect and remediate the effects of climate change, strengthen the country's natural defenses and maintain public lands.

The original CCC established hundreds of camps across the state, building roads, rails, facilities and other enhancements to Arizona parks.

The Sierra Club recently posted a series of video comments from teachers, civil rights leaders, park rangers, organizers and historians about the plan's potential benefits.

Connie Rudd, a retired supervisor with the National Park Service, talked about the idea's potential scope.

"We often think of these projects as being primarily in natural-area Western parks," Rudd explained. "But the whole concept is everything, border to border, North, South, East, West, urban and suburban projects."

Bahr added in a down economy, the plan would provide well-paying jobs for young people who want to serve their country.

"Young people have demonstrated quite clearly that the climate crisis is a priority for them," Bahr contended. "They're interested in serving. This is a way for them to do more and for us to invest in them, as well."

Historians say there are still hundreds of buildings, trails and other public improvements built by the original CCC in Arizona and across the country.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Some groups see disproportionately high rates of suicide, including veterans, racial and ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ people. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Rates of suicide among young people have increased by about 36% in roughly the last two decades and the surge has caught the attention of federal poli…


play sound

Members of Nebraska's LGBTQ+ community and their supporters saw positive actions at both the state and federal level this month. At the state level…

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri residents are gaining new insights into the powerful role of food in health care as experts and organizations advocate for a shift toward foo…


New Mexico is the second sunniest state in the nation after Arizona, creating maximum opportunities for solar development. (KristinaBlokhin/AdobeStock)

Environment

play sound

New federal funding aims to revolutionize solar energy access within New Mexico's Native American communities and benefit the state overall. The …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Nevada health-care providers, patients and advocates are responding to the U.S. Supreme Court case that'll determine the future of the Emergency …

Environment

play sound

State officials in Maine are preparing the next generation for climate change-related activism and careers. A new state-run website helps young …

Social Issues

play sound

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas says it is monitoring protests at college campuses, after almost 60 students protesting the Israeli-…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021