Environmental and social advocates gathered Tuesday outside Flagstaff City Hall to condemn President Trump and Arizona Senator Jeff Flake for failing to act on climate change. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports.
Speakers with the Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club, and others took turns criticizing what they call regressive federal policies. They’re worried that recent rollbacks of environmental regulations and funding cuts to land management agencies further the Trump administration’s anti-climate agenda.
Ed Grumbine with the Grand Canyon Trust says increased frequency and intensity of wildfires in northern Arizona is a significant public health issue.
"Today here in Flagstaff with the temperature over 90, which is a bit unusual for our town, we’re going to see more of this in the future. And we don’t see our political leaders in Washington, D.C. stepping up their game to deal with climate issues," Grumbine says.
Navajo tribal members in attendance said native populations will bear the brunt of climate change as their lands become hotter, drier, and unable to support agriculture and traditional ways of life.
