Summary/Goals: A series of press briefings on water, drought, and climate-related issues featuring presentations by academic researchers and water managers, cosponsored by the UA Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (Climate Assessment Project for the Southwest). The briefings alternate between Tucson, Phoenix, and Albuquerque.
Activities and outcomes during past year:
Media briefings have attracted wide coverage from TV, newspapers, radio, wire services and other print media in all 3 metropolitan areas. Stories on drought-related issues have been featured in news broadcasts, weather forecasts, and front-page stories, reaching wide audiences. Presenters have included the Governor of Arizona and key water resource officials. A briefing on the drought in SE Arizona was held Fri., Feb. 10, 2006, in Tucson. Representatives of KUAZ-NPR, KGUN-ABC, KOLD-CBS, the Arizona Daily Star, Associated Press, and Southwest Hydrology attended. A briefing in Phoenix in December 2006 was well covered, generating several stories and raising the profile of two SAHRA projects (wells and rainlog).
Plans for the upcoming year:
A media briefing is planned for Tucson in April 2008.
