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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBruce Hungate<\/strong>, director of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss) at NAU, which is one of the sponsors of the summit, spoke about the importance of addressing these issues in Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We\nknow that the changes happening globally affect Arizona, and we’re\nobserving them everywhere: under the microscope, on our farms and in\nour front yards,\u201d said Hungate, who also is chair of the\nMcAllister Initiative on Community, Culture, and the Environment. \u201cIt’s\ntime for a new kind of conversation, one that brings all of our\nvoices to bear on the big question: What do we want to do\nnow?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bringing\ntogether more than 30 speakers on a broad range of issues including\nrural resilience, community climate action and wildfire response and management,\nClimate 2020: Seven Generations for Arizona draws on the Iroquois\nprinciple of making resource decisions that will be sustainable for the next seven\ngenerations. Students will deliver keynotes and lead breakout sessions and\npanels throughout the summit. A climate action town hall on Nov.\n16 will feature members of Arizona\nYouth Climate Strike<\/a> and Our Children\u2019s Trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nsummit also will address how the shifting climate threatens Arizonans\u2019 health. More\nextreme temperatures and more frequent heat waves exacerbate chronic\nconditions; in particular, worsening air quality from dust storms, wildfires\nand particulate emissions aggravate asthma and respiratory illnesses. Climate\ndisruptions and altered habitats are changing the way infectious diseases\nspread in the state. Heat-associated deaths scar families and communities, and\nArizona can anticipate increases in those largely preventable tragedies. All\nthese risks disproportionately affect the most vulnerable: children, the\nelderly, migrant farmworkers and people in low-income, rural and tribal\ncommunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arizona is\nuniquely situated to respond to these challenges. Communities and resource\nmanagers have experience contending with the hotter and drier conditions the\nstate is experiencing, and the state has been recognized for a culture of\nlistening to diverse perspectives to make sound decisions for its future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “In Phoenix metro, city planners, sustainability\ndirectors, community leaders, and scientists have been developing positive visions\nfor central Arizona that take into account these climate futures,” said\nNancy Grimm, co-director of the Urban Resilience to Weather-Related Extreme\nEvents Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN) and a professor at Arizona\nState University. “We hope to engage in this kind of hopeful conversation\nat the climate summit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate\n2020: Seven Generations for Arizona aims to\ntransform the conversation, moving beyond drought contingency plans and into a\ncomprehensive and future-oriented framework of creative and science-driven\ndecision-making. The summit is organized by Ecoss (NAU), the Institute for\nTribal Environmental Professionals, the Center for Health Equity Research\n(NAU), the Green Fund (NAU), the Sustainability Program at the City of Flagstaff,\nVitalyst Foundation and other partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate\n2020: Seven Generations for Arizona will take place at High Country\nConference Center in Flagstaff on Nov. 15-16. Summit registration is free\nto Arizona college and university students who wish to\nvolunteer. To learn more or to register, visit https:\/\/climate2020arizona.nau.edu\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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