Environmental Day has arrived for state lawmakers

PHOENIX —  Water was a hot topic at the state legislature Tuesday afternoon for the annual Environmental Day at the Capitol.

The theme for 2016 is ‘Water is Life’ and the goal is to start a conversation vision of Arizona’s water future.

“(People need) to recognize that climate change is an issue, to recognize that we are in a long term drought and to recognize the value of rivers,” director of the Grand Canyon chapter of the Sierra Club Sandy Bahr said.

Event coordinators hope to connect lawmakers with Arizonans who care about the state’s water shortage.

“We are trying to get people to encourage legislators to support a conservation vision for water in Arizona,” Bahr said.

“(The issue is) not just how can we bring in more water but how can we live in a more sustainable way in a place that is pretty dry.”

Bahr said they planned to also ask lawmakers to kill several bills at the state legislature that the Sierra Club believes will hurt the environment.