Now is not the time to loosen mining regulations.
Jonathan Thompson
Jonathan Thompson is a contributing editor at High Country News. He is the author of Sagebrush Empire: How a Remote Utah County Became the Battlefront of American Public Lands. Follow him @LandDesk
Posted inArticles
Will the Supreme Court gut the Clean Water Act?
The justices could remove federal protection from 80% of the Southwest’s streams.
Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge
Races to watch throughout the West
The midterm elections promise to be a referendum on Joe Biden — and Donald Trump.
Posted inArticles
The Green New Deal didn’t crash California’s grid
Climate change is wrecking the electricity system.
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The divide over Diablo
Greens battle greens over the fate of California’s last nuke plant.
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The Colorado River’s alfalfa problem
Growing less hay is the only way to keep the river’s water system from collapsing
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
Climate and Congress
Historic political action, but is it enough?
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
Can ravaged economies be healed with a restoration industry?
Cleaning up the West could be as lucrative as wrecking it.
Posted inArticles
The climate bill’s blind spot
A closer look at the good and the bad of specific provisions in the historic climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Climate game changer? Or fossil fuel giveaway?
A break down of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Posted inArticles
The monsoon can’t save us
An unusually rainy Southwest summer is welcome — but much more is needed to end the water crisis.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
The West’s forever fire season
How climate change makes wildfire more likely to happen all year round.
Posted inArticles
The rise of the restoration economy
Filling the economic void left by the extraction economy by healing the land.
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The funky politics of wildfire right now
After New Mexico’s record-breaking fires, the politics of wildfire are morphing into weird configurations.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
The hydrogen blues (and greens and grays)
Is this wonder fuel truly green — or just another fossil fuel in disguise?
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The San Juan Basin’s fossil fuel transition slowed by economic and cultural bonds
The region’s history with prosperity in the oil and gas industry looms over conversations about how to diversify its economy.
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Will carbon capture help clean New Mexico’s power, or delay its transition?
A virtually unknown company has a $1.4 billion plan to extend the life of the state’s largest coal-fired power plant. Critics say it’s likely to be a costly distraction from a just transition.
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New Mexico’s landmark coal transition law faces an uncertain timeline
Despite momentum in 2017, drought and supply chain problems are complicating the shift from fossil fuels.
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In the wake of fires and floods
Climate disasters across the West wreak havoc on economies and livelihoods.
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The shift to green energy, obstructed
A whole host of factors has thrown the transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable forms of energy off track.