Trees can provide relief from the heat during the summer months, but ASU researchers say that other forms of shade can also be effective. The findings can have benefits for city planners looking to offset the heat island effect.

#AZNumbers is a weekly segment featuring thoughts and insight into Arizona's economic news. This week's number: $680 million — and a look directly into the sun. Listen to the KJZZ business block with Heather van Blokland weekdays at 6 p.m. on 91.5 FM or stream it on KJZZ.org.

Coral reefs are under serious threat from climate change as more are bleached as the oceans warm. Located in Hawaii, ASU’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science is working to stop climate change from destroying this crucial ocean habitat.

The University of Arizona and the Navajo Nation’s Diné College were awarded a $500,000 federal grant for training and research on water scarcity and challenges on the reservation.

The Phoenix City Council is trying to make it cheaper and easier for residents to install solar panels on their homes.

The Arthur L. and Elaine V. Johnson Conservation Center at the Phoenix Zoo has announced the birth of a bumper crop of 21 black-footed ferrets. The animals are one of North America’s most endangered species.

The Arizona Legislature wants to look into the feasibility of pumping water from the Mississippi River to Arizona. But the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has already studied the idea, and weighed in on the project in 2012.

If Phoenix's vice mayor gets his way, some residents might see a city version of a stimulus check. During Tuesday’s Phoenix City Council meeting, members discussed ways to spend $396 million from the American Rescue Plan. The city expects to get its first $198 million payment from the federal government any day. A second installment of $198 million will come one year later.

Sonoran Gov. Claudia Pavlovich’s six-year term ends in September, meaning this is the last formal meeting between the two as leaders of their respective states.