Much of the state’s oil extraction takes place in residential areas, often in Spanish-speaking communities, but there’s a lack of research detailing its impact.
Judith Lewis Mernit
Posted inOctober 26, 2015: Clean Energy's Dirty Secret
Green energy’s dirty secret
Industrial solar and wind endanger wildlife but are getting more support than ever.
Posted inArticles
BLM advances solar project that will harm bighorn sheep
The Bechtel Corporation’s Soda Mountain solar farm will undo decades of conservation in California.
Posted inMay 11, 2015: The Wetland Wars
The Los Angeles wetland wars
Environmentalists saved a wetland from developers a decade ago. Now they’re trying to save it from each other.
Posted inArticles
Famous Los Angeles puma holes up in residents’ crawlspace
The mountain lion brings attention to the role of urban wilds.
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
The West in 72 hours
Asian tourists look for space, spectacles and a decent bowl of noodles.
Posted inArticles
An international street artist goes tagging in Joshua Tree
The latest in a string of graffiti incidents in national parks.
Posted inMarch 2, 2015: Unite and Conquer
Latest: New pesticide regulations for Oregon timber companies
Companies must now give officials at least a week’s notice before spraying.
Posted inArticles
California’s water future at a crossroads
A state commission begins deliberations on how to spend $2.7B for water storage.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2015: This Land is Their Land
Why are environmentalists mad at Jerry Brown?
The California governor has made bold moves on climate — but greens are disgruntled.
Posted inArticles
Regulators dampen hopes for tribal solar project
The Moapa Solar Energy Center would have provided 175 megawatts to Nevada’s largest utility.
Posted inArticles
Will California’s Proposition 1 give rise to more dams?
While some environmental groups support the water bond on Tuesday’s ballot, some call it “mystery meat.”
Posted inArticles
Regulators release report on viability of nuclear waste storage at Yucca
But it doesn’t mean the Nevada site is safe — or even back on the docket.
Posted inArticles
Obama declares new national monument in the mountains above Los Angeles
Trails, campgrounds and wildlands will qualify for federal funding for improvements.
Posted inOctober 13, 2014: Charles Bowden's Fury
Has the Obama administration hobbled the Endangered Species Act?
A new policy may set the law back half a century.
Posted inArticles
Solar in the desert finally gets some scrutiny
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell came to California’s Mojave Desert this September to announce a multi-agency effort to boost renewable energy development in the desert. But first, she had to go on a hike. “We went out into the Big Morongo Preserve,” she told reporters. “Fifteen, 20 minutes from here, there are wetlands. Wetlands, and 254 […]
Posted inArticles
A plan for California desert conservation comes online
Will it stop more solar and wind projects from being built in the wrong places?
Posted inSeptember 15, 2014: Books & Essays
Michelle Huneven writes about place, addiction and love
This California author examines lost years and life in the mountains.
Posted inArticles
Did Obama’s Interior hobble the Endangered Species Act?
A new policy sets the law back a half-century, conservationists say.
Posted inAugust 18, 2014: Alaska's Uncertain Food Future
The Latest: EPA cuts pollution at the Navajo Generating Station
BackstoryBad air from coal-fired power plants not only causes health problems for the locals; it also ruins the scenery. In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency began addressing the visual impacts of air pollution from power plants, developing plans to reduce haze around national parks and wilderness areas. (“Clean air regulations protect views by targeting coal […]