Melissa Sevigny
Melissa grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where she fell in love with the ecology and geology of the Sonoran desert. She has a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Arizona and an M.FA. in Creative Writing and Environment from Iowa State University. Her first book, Mythical River, forthcoming from the University of Iowa Press, is about water issues in the Southwest. She has worked as a science communicator for NASA’s Phoenix Mars Scout Mission, the Water Resources Research Center, and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Melissa relocated to Flagstaff in 2015 to join KNAU’s team. She enjoys hiking, fishing and reading fantasy novels.
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When a massive coal mine closed in 2019, thousands of Hopi people lost access to free coal to heat their homes. Grassroots efforts to replace coal with firewood have sprung up and are winning funding.
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Ongoing warming in the Southwest has bottomed out major reservoirs on the Colorado River and raised alarms among cities and farms that rely on the water. But it’s also a threat to the environment in one of the world’s most recognizable wonders: the Grand Canyon. -
As Emory oak trees in parts of Arizona disappear, members of several Apache tribes are working on a collaborative plan with the U.S. Forest Service and researchers to preserve them.
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When the dam that created a major American reservoir was built decades ago, Native American cliff dwellings and artifacts were submerged. Now, they're emerging as drought lowers water levels.
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It's easy to measure physical damage from natural disasters made worse by climate change, less so their lingering psychological impacts. But experts say they're no less real.
