Come Rain or Shine
52 episodes - English - Latest episode: 21 days ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsCollaborative product of the USDA Southwest Climate Hub and the DOI Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center. We highlight stories to share the most recent advances in climate science, weather and climate adaptation, and innovative practices to support resilient landscapes and communities. We believe that sharing forward thinking and creative climate science and adaptation will strengthen our collective ability to respond to even the most challenging impacts of climate change in one of the hottest and driest regions of the world.
New episodes on the first Wednesday of each month. Sign up for email alerts and never miss an episode: https://forms.gle/7zkjrjghEBLrGf8Z9. Funding for the podcast comes from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded Sustainable Southwest Beef Project.
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Episodes
Solutions for Sustaining Environmental Flows
April 03, 2024 07:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBFlows in the Rio Chama, a tributary of the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico, have dwindled from drought and rising temperatures as well as diversion for agricultural irrigation. These diminished flows threaten groundwater resources and habitat for endangered plants and animals. Paul Tashjian, Director of Freshwater Conservation with Audubon Southwest, tells us about solutions that have been implemented to alleviate pressures on the Rio Chama and other waterways, bringing back flows for the ...
Climate Change, Coastlines, and Aquaculture
March 06, 2024 08:00 - 36 minutes - 25.4 MBHow is climate change affecting our coasts and ocean? What about aquaculture? Halley Froehlich, an expert in climate change impacts to coasts and oceans, with a strong focus on aquaculture, joins us to discuss this important topic as we wrap up our series highlighting Key Messages in the Southwest Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment. Relevant links: Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5) Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5 NCA5 Atlas If you’re enjoying this podcast, pleas...
Fifth National Climate Assessment, Southwest Chapter: Health, Water, Agriculture, and Wildfire
February 07, 2024 08:00 - 33 minutes - 23.5 MBWe continue our discussion of the Southwest Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5). Each Chapter of NCA5 is organized around Key Messages. This month we interviewed the lead authors of four Key Messages in the Southwest Chapter, covering human health, water, agriculture, and wildfire. Each author shares what they would like people to know and what they found hopeful or encouraging within their Key Message topic. Relevant links: Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5)...
Inside the Fifth National Climate Assessment, Southwest Chapter
January 03, 2024 08:00 - 51 minutes - 35.7 MBDrs. Emile Elias and Dave White discuss the Southwest chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5). They share what it was like to be lead authors of the Southwest chapter, what’s new in this assessment, how it’s being shared, some major findings, and other highlights. We wrap up this episode with what each of them found encouraging or hopeful from the assessment. Relevant links: Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5) Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5 NCA5 Atlas “Start...
Harvesting Hope: Tackling Food Waste, Hunger, and Climate Change
December 06, 2023 08:00 - 46 minutes - 32.7 MBWe speak with the directors of two non-profit organizations who are turning problems into solutions by getting nutritious food that would normally go to waste back into our food system and into the hands of those who can use it - reducing waste, methane emissions, and fighting food insecurity all at the same time. Cover Image credit: USDA Photo by Lance Cheung Relevant links: Association of Gleaning Organizations Falling Fruit National Gleaning Project Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act If ...
Indigenous Agriculture and Climate Resilience
November 01, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes - 23.7 MBContinuing with our agriculture theme, this month we are joined by Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson (Hopi Tribe of Arizona) who discusses Indigenous agricultural knowledge, traditional farming, Indigenous participation in conservation programs, climate change, and more. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung. Relevant links: Johnson, M.K., Rowe, M. , Lien, A.M.& Hoffman-Lopez, L. 2021. Enhancing Integration of Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge into National Resource Conservation Service Cost-Share Initiati...
The Scoop on Kernza®, a Multi-functional Perennial Grain Crop
October 04, 2023 07:00 - 39 minutes - 27.7 MBKernza® is a small perennial grain with multiple environmental benefits, including carbon sequestration. We are joined by Nicole Tautges (Michael Fields Agricultural Institute) and Hana Fancher (The Land Institute) to learn more about the benefits and uses of Kernza®, as well as some of the challenges associated with growing this grain, and possible future directions. Photo credit: USDA Relevant links: Kernza® Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP) Kernza® Grower Guide Kernza® Community B...
Old Growth Grasslands
September 06, 2023 07:00 - 39 minutes - 27.2 MB“Old growth” is a term often associated with forests, however scientists are beginning to realize that this concept also applies to other types of ecosystems, including grasslands, which provide a host of important ecosystem services. We interviewed Dr. Katharine Suding, a researcher at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, to learn more about old growth grasslands. Image credit: USDA Photo by Lance Cheung Relevant links: Buisson, E., Archibald, S., F...
A Closer Look at California Wildfires
August 02, 2023 07:00 - 35 minutes - 24.8 MBWhat’s behind the increasing size and severity of California’s wildfires? And if the trajectory continues, what does that mean for people living there? How has this trend already impacted residents? Three co-authors of a recent synthesis on drivers of wildfire in the Golden State share their main findings with us, as well as speculating on some possibilities for future solutions to living alongside increasing fire hazard. Photo credit: USDA Related Links: Climate Change Is Escalating Califo...
After-Fire Reforestation: The John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center
July 05, 2023 07:00 - 42 minutes - 29.9 MBThe John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center in Mora, New Mexico, aims to advance the understanding of restoration activities on forested areas in New Mexico through multidisciplinary research, education, and partner collaborations. The Center also provides science-based solutions for private, tribal, state, and federal forest managers, who face the threat of catastrophic fires due to overgrown forests and the inability of post-fire forest communities and ecosystems to naturally regenerat...
Cultural Burning in Northern California
June 07, 2023 07:00 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MBTraditional burning, also known as cultural burning, is a form of under burning that has been used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years to increase water runoff into streams, create habitats for plants and animals, recycle nutrients, and promote other ecosystem benefits. We interviewed Diana Almendariz (Maidu/Wintún/Hupa/Yurok), cultural fire practitioner, and Nina Fontana (Ukrainian and Italian), post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, to learn more about "...
Sarah Ray on Navigating Climate Anxiety
May 03, 2023 07:00 - 41 minutes - 29 MBWe often talk about Climate Hope on this show, but what about Climate Anxiety? Perhaps even Climate Despair? These are very real emotions that many of us feel when thinking about this planet we call home. We sat down with Dr. Sarah Ray, author of the book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet. Dr. Ray shared with us some of her tips and advice on navigating the complex landscape of climate change related issues, and some things she recommends for moving ...
Microgravity Drip Irrigation: Innovative Way to Get “More Crop Per Drop”
April 05, 2023 07:00 - 39 minutes - 27.8 MBWater scarcity solutions, especially those solutions that allow for continued food production while reducing water use, are a critical component of coping with reduced water availability now and into the future. We interviewed Dr. Manoj Shukla about a current research project of his using microgravity drip irrigation technologies from Israel on an experimental farm in Southern New Mexico. Related Links: KRQE News Flash Video on YouTube New Mexico State University Newsroom Article If you’...
Biochar: Uses and Potential Benefits
March 01, 2023 08:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBWe have been hearing a lot about biochar recently. Biochar is the charred material leftover after partially burning organic material, which is then used to improve soil health, remediate polluted soils, sequester carbon, and even improve soil water holding capacity and soil moisture. This month we spoke with Dr. Debbie Page-Dumerose and Dr. Nate Anderson, both with the USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, to learn more about biochar and its many uses. Episode image: USDA Forest Service phot...
Managing Cultural Resources in a Changing Climate
February 01, 2023 08:00 - 54 minutes - 37.7 MBThe impacts of climate change are threatening the resources in our national parks, including many of the cultural resources within them. This month we interviewed Lauren Meyer, Program Manager for the National Park Service Intermountain Historic Preservation Services Office, and Dr. Gregg Garfin, former director of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center consortium and climatologist at the University of Arizona, to learn more about a project they worked on to develop an online, inter...
Climate Hope, the Compilation
January 04, 2023 08:00 - 30 minutes - 21.3 MBWe always like to ask our guests on this show what gives them hope as they think about the future and our changing climate, particularly with regard to the systems they work in. For our first episode of 2023, we made a collage of some highlights from our guests’ responses to this question. As this new year begins, we hope you’re finding things to fuel your fire, and perhaps you might find some additional inspiration in the words of others! Episode image credit: USDA Photo by Lance Cheung I...
Rangelands and Climate change
December 07, 2022 08:00 - 25 minutes - 17.6 MBEcological sites are the basic component of a land-type classification system that describes ecological potential and ecosystem dynamics of land areas. We interviewed Dr. Joel Brown, current leader of the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s National Ecological Site Team, to learn more about ecological site descriptions, transitions and transformations, and some thoughts about rangeland ecology under a changing climate. Image Credit: USDA Photo by Lance Cheung. Relevant Links: Ecosystem...
Teaching Science Through Agriculture and Place Based Learning
November 02, 2022 07:00 - 36 minutes - 25.5 MBScience education is critical in responding to future challenges, both in building awareness in our community and also building the skills to respond to some of our most pressing climate-related challenges, such as drought and water scarcity, wildfire, and food production under climate extremes. In this episode we speak with Dr. Stephanie Bestelmeyer, executive director of Asombro Institute for Science Education in Las Cruces, NM, and Dr. Kristy Ehlers, Director of School Partnerships for El...
Precipitation Intensity: Research, Challenges, and Opportunities
October 05, 2022 07:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MBLast month we heard from two experts on drought and aridity; this month we’re covering the other end of the spectrum and focusing on precipitation intensity and heavy downpours in the Southwestern US. Two hydrologic modelers, Dr. Dave Goodrich and Dr. Eleonora Demaria, discuss their research on intense precipitation events, as well as some of the implications of observed trends, associated challenges, and perhaps surprising opportunities. Image credit: Hans, Pixabay. Publications mentioned ...
Megadrought and Aridity
September 07, 2022 07:00 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBMegadrought is a term we’ve been hearing a lot of lately, with, as we find out from one of our guests, somewhat varying definitions. The term megadrought is generally used to describe the length of a drought, and not its acute intensity. A related term, aridity, is the degree to which climate lacks effective, life-promoting moisture. Simply put, aridity is permanent, while drought is temporary. But when drought extends multiple decades, as we are currently experiencing, is it actually aridif...
Mike Hoffmann on Our Changing Menu: How Climate Change Affects the Foods We Grow
August 03, 2022 14:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MBWe interview Dr. Mike Hoffmann about climate change and the foods we love and need. Dr. Hoffmann is one of the authors of Our Changing Menu, a book published in 2021 about a complicated and nuanced topic – how climate change is impacting our food supply. Relevant Links & Promo Codes: Our Changing Menu website: https://www.ourchangingmenu.com/ Promo code for 40% off the book if ordered from Cornell Press: 09SAVE Promo code for discount on eCornell Climate Change Leadership course: CORNEL...
Mike Hoffmann on Our Changing Menu
August 03, 2022 14:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MBWe interview Dr. Mike Hoffmann about climate change and the foods we love and need. Dr. Hoffmann is one of the authors of Our Changing Menu, a book published in 2021 about a complicated and nuanced topic – how climate change is impacting our food supply. Relevant Links & Promo Codes: Our Changing Menu website: https://www.ourchangingmenu.com/ Promo code for 40% off the book if ordered from Cornell Press: 09SAVE Promo code for discount on eCornell Climate Change Leadership course: CORNEL...
Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability of Navajo Nation Forests
July 06, 2022 07:00 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MBWarming temperatures can exacerbate forest drought stress, reducing defenses to bark beetle outbreaks, wildfire, and tree diseases. Concern about losses within the forests of the Navajo Nation due to these stressors led to a partnership between the Navajo Forestry Department and a diverse group of scientists to assess the vulnerability of Navajo forests to climate change and develop strategies to promote forest resilience to drought and extreme fire behavior. Here we speak with Principal Inv...
Behind the Scenes of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report
June 01, 2022 07:00 - 43 minutes - 30.2 MBDr. Carolyn Enquist and Dr. Dave Gutzler discuss the making of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, particularly the Working Group II section that presents an assessment of the impacts of, and vulnerabilities and adaptations to, climate change, of which both were authors. They share with us the scope and purpose of the report, applicability for resource managers and other decision-makers, what some of the terminology means, and more. Please note - thi...
Assessing Risk When Relocating Species
May 04, 2022 07:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBContinuing our series on managing for ecosystem transformation, we sit down with Dr. Mark Schwartz, a plant ecologist at UC Davis, and Aviv Karasov-Olson, a PhD candidate at UC Davis, to discuss a new tool for assessing the biotic risks associated with a managed relocation project (also referred to as assisted migration). Managed relocation is the act of deliberately relocating, or translocating, a species outside of its historic range to meet conservation goals, especially in response to cl...
Managing for Change: California’s Giant Sequoias
April 06, 2022 07:00 - 35 minutes - 24.4 MBHow are extreme events transforming sequoia forests in the western US.? And what are land managers doing about it? Dr. Christy Brigham, Chief of Resources Management and Science at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and Dr. Joanna Nelson, Director of science and conservation planning with Save the Redwoods League, visited with us to share their knowledge and experiences working to conserve these iconic trees. Image credit: Pixabay Relevant links: Sequoia and Kings Canyon - National P...
Forest Transformation in the Southwest
March 02, 2022 08:00 - 58 minutes - 40.5 MBImpacts from rapid climate change are challenging traditional land & wildlife management strategies that were based on a stable baseline condition. In some locations we are already observing early-stage ecosystem reorganization in response to historic land management practices combined with recent novel climate stresses. Dr. Craig Allen and Dr. Nate Stephenson discuss how the convergence of climate stress, human land use patterns and histories, and disturbance trends in the southwestern Unit...
Sustainability In Beef Supply Chains
February 02, 2022 08:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBA discussion around sustainability challenges and opportunities within the U.S. beef supply chain. Our guest for this episode is Dr. Sheri Spiegal, a rangeland scientist with the Jornada Experimental Range and Co-PI of the Sustainable Southwest Beef Project. Dr. Spiegal shares insights with us from her ongoing research on beef supply chains, trade offs, and producing “socially acceptable beef”. The Sustainable Southwest Beef Project is supported by USDA NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853. Relevan...
Katharine Hayhoe On Hope & Healing In A Divided World
January 05, 2022 08:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBAn interview with world-renowned climate scientist and Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, on her most recent book titled Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. All opinions expressed by our guests are their own. Relevant links and resources: Katharine Hayhoe’s website: http://www.katharinehayhoe.com/ Coming soon from Dr. Hayhoe! Discussion questions for each section of the book, as well as short videos to go with each s...
Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change
December 01, 2021 08:00 - 42 minutes - 29.6 MBThe Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project is a collaborative effort to establish experimental trials of climate change adaptation strategies across different forest ecosystems throughout the United States and Canada. According to the society of American Foresters, silviculture is “the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society.” In this epi...
Wire Up Those Cows! New Gadgets For An Old Profession
November 17, 2021 08:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MBIn this episode, Drs. Sheri Spiegal, Shelemia Nyamuryekung'e, and Matt McIntosh roll up their sleeves and dig into answering some of the questions that producers have asked the team about the precision ranching technologies currently under research as part of the Sustainable Southwest Beef Project. If you’re just tuning in for the first time and would like to know more about the Sustainable Southwest Beef Project, we recommend listening to our August 2020 episode called “The Sustainable Sou...
Drought & the 2021 Monsoon Season
November 03, 2021 07:00 - 31 minutes - 22 MB2020 and the first half of 2021 were brutal drought years for the Southwest U.S. continuing a much longer term regional drought. But this monsoon season brought welcome rain to many places in the region, with flowing washes and bright green vegetation. Many are asking, is the drought over? Surely if there is water in our usually dry washes, we must be out of drought. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case, and almost all of the region is still in at least moderate drought, according to the late...
Water Desalination: Barriers and Opportunities
October 06, 2021 07:00 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBThis month we take a closer look at desalination of brackish groundwater and/or seawater as a potential solution to augment water supply in the arid southwest. We are joined by Dr. Sam Fernald, Director of the New Mexico State University Water Resources Research Institute, and Dr. Pei Xu researcher and professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at New Mexico State University, who share their current research and thoughts on the future of this technology. Episode art courtesy of Pixabay...
Extreme Heat & Urban Planning
September 01, 2021 07:00 - 38 minutes - 26.7 MBIn this episode we continue our conversation around the topic of extreme heat. We visit with three experts in urban planning to discuss how we can mitigate public health impacts of extreme heat through improved urban planning and green infrastructure. Dr. Ladd Keith, a researcher at the University of Arizona, Dr. Dave Hondula, a researcher at Arizona State University, and Lisa LaRocque, Sustainability Officer for the City of Las Cruces, New Mexico, share their insights and experiences with u...
Extreme Heat & Public Health
August 04, 2021 07:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MBAccording to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Extreme heat kills on average more than 600 people in the U.S. each year. Over the course of just a few weeks this summer (2021), three different heat waves baked the western U.S., breaking numerous heat records and killing hundreds. In this episode, as part of our educational outreach to local communities, we interview three experts, Drs. Jennifer Vanos and Rachel Braun, from Arizona State University, and Dr. Adelle Monteblanco fro...
Drought Adaptation & Social Learning
July 07, 2021 06:00 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBTaking action to manage drought and adapt to changing conditions can sometimes have unintended impacts on the adaptive capacity of others in the same social and ecological system. Jen Henderson, an assistant professor of geography at Texas Tech University, shares two instances where social learning took place after actors experienced unanticipated impacts from others’ decisions. Her recent work highlighted in this episode focuses on two cases of drought decisions made along the Arkansas Rive...
CoCoRaHS: Citizen Science in Weather Reporting
June 01, 2021 07:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBCoCoRaHS is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. CoCoRaHS is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow), with the unique ability to capture fine-scale variability in local precipitation. CoCoRaHs is currently in all fifty states and currently expanding internationally as well. In this episode we are speaking with CoCoRaHs founder Nolan Doeske...
Drought, Snowpack, and Streamflow
May 05, 2021 07:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MBIn this continuation of our special series on drought, we interview two water and climate scientists to learn what streamflow forecasts are predicting for the upcoming summer, and to learn more about an emerging area of research, termed snow drought. Dr. Adrian Harpold is a hydrologist with the University of Nevada, Reno, and is also a SW CASC funded researcher. Dr. Brad Udall is a Senior Water and Climate Scientist with the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University, and is a co-pri...
Grass-Cast: A Grassland Productivity Forecasting Tool
April 21, 2021 07:00 - 40 minutes - 27.9 MBIn this mid-month bonus episode we interview Dr. Dannele Peck, Director of the USDA Northern Plains Climate Hub, about a rangeland/grassland forage productivity forecasting tool called Grass-Cast. Grass-Cast uses well-known relationships between historical weather and grassland production to provide estimates of annual forage production, beginning in the spring of each year and updated on a two-week cycle throughout the growing season. With the new growing season now upon us, we decided to c...
Drought Impacts on Mental Health
April 07, 2021 07:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBDrought impacts more than our physical world - the psychological impacts of drought are also very real. Crop damage or failure, running out of forage for livestock, the loss of culturally important natural resources, and many other drought-related effects can lead to stress, anxiety, and a deep sense of loss. Sometimes it’s hard to know who to talk to or what resources are available. In this episode, we talk to three experts on this topic and discuss some strategies for coping and what you c...
Drought & Natural Resources Management
March 03, 2021 08:00 - 44 minutes - 30.4 MBAs of March 1st 2020, 85% of Arizona and 82% of New Mexico were in extreme to exceptional drought--the most severe drought categories used by the U.S. Drought Monitor--and other states in the Southwest were fairing similarly. Rangelands and other arid ecosystems that are able to withstand exceptionally high temperatures may not seem as vulnerable to drought as other types of ecosystems, but they may be even closer to thresholds and more vulnerable. In this episode, we spoke with two USGS sci...
Talking Wine, Weather, and Science: Part 2
February 03, 2021 08:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBIs climate change already impacting viticulture (the cultivation of grapevines)? How might a changing climate affect wine production? Is today a better time to drink red wine in Germany? Does weather affect alcohol content? You might be surprised by the answers to some of these! In this second half of our two-episode feature on viticulture, we delve into the effects of climate, weather, and our changing future on viticulture. If you haven’t already, be sure to listen to Part 1 where our gues...
Talking Wine, Weather, and Science: Part 1
February 03, 2021 08:00 - 23 minutes - 16.5 MBDo you drink wine? Do you know how many varieties of wine there are in the world? What’s enology? What makes a vintage unique? Join us as we sit down with three scientists who specialize in viticulture and the cultivation of wine-grapes to hear about all of this and more. Dr. Kerri Steenwerth, with USDA-ARS in California, Dr. Andy Walker, from UC Davis, California, and Dr. Jeremy Weiss, from University of Arizona, tell us why the study of viticulture is important to them, how they got into t...
Climate Hope
January 06, 2021 08:00 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MBWe interview Ann Marie Chischilly, a member of the Navajo Nation and Executive Director of the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP), and Amber Pairis, Director of the Climate Science Alliance and partnership liaison for the Southwest CASC, to hear what they have to say about climate hope, and what gives them hope for the future. Episode image credit: USDA. All episodes: https://rainorshine.buzzsprout.com/ We welcome your feedback! Please share your thoughts and suggestio...
Novel Strategies in Beef Production
December 09, 2020 08:00 - 21 minutes - 15.2 MBDr. Andres Cibils reflects on the first year of the Sustainable Southwest Beef Project - what's been accomplished, what's in the works, and what's changing. Want to learn about the beef and what's being researched? Check out this podcast, and visit https://southwestbeef.org/. The Sustainable Southwest Beef Project is funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) program. Grant #2019-69012-29853 ...
The Nitty Gritty of Dust
December 02, 2020 08:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MBDrs. Dave Dubois, New Mexico State Climatologist, and Nick Webb, research scientist at the Jornada Experimental Range, discuss the nitty gritty of dust (pun intended). While it may seem dry (haha, okay we'll stop now), it's important to know about moving forward. What weather conditions produce dust? What kind of modeling and monitoring projects are being implemented currently? They go over this and some speculations for the future. Photo courtesy of USDA ARS Follow us on Twitter @RainSh...
Santa Cruz River Lives Again
November 04, 2020 08:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBUrban expansion and mismanagement of the Santa Cruz River in southern Arizona had led to a dry river bed for much of the year. Using effluent (treated wastewater), the City of Tucson Water Department brought perennial flow back to a portion of the river, just South of downtown Tucson. The returned water recharges groundwater to the local aquifer, while restoring vegetation and wildlife to this stretch of the river. James McAdam from Tucson Water, and Michael Bogan and Drew Eppehimer from the...
2020 Fire Season: Grim, Smoky, Flexible
October 07, 2020 07:00 - 41 minutes - 28.7 MBHow would you sum up the 2020 fire season in just one word? Tim Brown, Royce Fontenot, and Megan Friggens share their impressions of the current fire season and discuss their work with pre-fire preparedness, active fire management, and post-fire recovery. They close with sharing some additional thoughts on fire management and response. It might surprise you how much science goes into firefighting! Online resources mentioned during the interview: After Fire Toolkit https://postfiresw.info/...
USDA Rural Development: Financing Climate Adaptation
September 02, 2020 07:00 - 40 minutes - 27.9 MBThere are times when community resilience needs to be financially supported for a vision of sustainability and resilience to become reality. This month we interviewed Fred Petok from USDA Rural Development about the business of financially supporting climate adaptation for communities, and how the programs he administers can support rural communities in a changing climate. All episodes: https://rainorshine.buzzsprout.com/ Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePod Never miss an episode! Sign up to...
Precision Ranching Technologies
August 01, 2020 10:00 - 41 minutes - 28.6 MBFrom smartphones to remote-controlled home appliances, the “internet of things” is everywhere. In this episode, Dr. Tony Waterhouse, professor emeritus at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) discusses virtual fencing, animal location/movement sensors, and other cutting edge precision ranching technologies either in the making or currently being introduced and tested for sheep and cattle ranching operations. The Sustainable Southwest Beef Project is funded by USDA National Institute of Food and ...