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John Shepard
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An environmentalist, John Shepard has lived with his family in Tucson, Arizona, since 1995 . His work takes him throughout the American West and Northwest Mexico, giving him a first-hand look at how climate change is impacting the region’s landscapes and communities.

A climate conversation for the Colorado River basin

A climate conversation for the Colorado River basin

As a professional conservationist, I work with a number of groups tackling some of the difficult climate-related challenges we face in the West. One of these groups is Carpe Diem…

Climate change and the current drought in the Southwest

Climate change and the current drought in the Southwest

I often get asked whether the current drought in the Southwest is caused by climate change. It’s a good question, but a hard one to answer succinctly. I generally respond…

Climate change: a business risk we can’t ignore

Climate change: a business risk we can’t ignore

On January 14th, a national coalition of business and political leaders assessing the economic risks of climate change announced the co-chairs who will lead this assessment. The group includes a…

Looking back in order to go forward on climate change

Looking back in order to go forward on climate change

A recently-published book tracing the history of climate in the West offers some interesting insights about how one could frame a conversation around climate change.  B. Lynn Ingram and Frances…

A gettysburg address for climate change?

A gettysburg address for climate change?

The recent coverage of the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address got me thinking, could there ever be a Gettysburg Address on climate change? No doubt, there’s a lot that…

Bringing climate change home

Bringing climate change home

Recently, I was listening to a climate advocate recount her experience at a community workshop she had attended in Arizona on the topic of drought.  The organizers were happy to…

Arizona: the bull’s-eye of climate change

Arizona: the bull’s-eye of climate change

On the heels of the recent released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of University of Arizona climate experts came together to discuss the report’s implications…

The start of one Climate Conversation

The start of one Climate Conversation

The impetus for this blog was a conversation I had with my wife, Carol, about climate change. Our most recent conversation was triggered by a piece on NPR’s This American…

An introduction to Climate Conversation

An introduction to Climate Conversation

As an environmentalist, I have a keen interest in the ongoing public conversation about climate change, but I have often been frustrated by the tone and substance of the conversation.…