Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
California
Posted inArticles
See the LA River at a fragile crossroads
Photographer Pablo Unzueta explores an urban river at peril and in constant flux.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
Protecting neighborhoods from future flames
Equitable wildfire preparedness requires community-level fixes.
Posted inArticles
‘We are not for sale’
The Environmental Justice for All Act could give communities more agency to stop mega warehouse projects.
Posted inArticles
The most destructive forest pest in North America is now in Oregon
The invasive emerald ash borer threatens the state’s salmon habitat, urban forests and agency budgets.
Posted inArticles
The funky politics of wildfire right now
After New Mexico’s record-breaking fires, the politics of wildfire are morphing into weird configurations.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
A community poisoned by oil
People living in Wilmington, California, experience higher levels of illness and ailing mental health.
Posted inArticles
Raquel Gutiérrez feels shades of desperate
The author of ‘Brown Neon’ on queer fatherhood and being broke down in the desert.
Posted inArticles
Wildfire and detours on the Pacific Crest Trail
A hiker is caught in smoke and decision-making when the Carr Fire broke out in 2018.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Wildlife in the West: The good, the bad, the in-between
Conservation and wildlife corridors can help, but is it enough?
Posted inArticles
New study finds DDT in California condors
Chemicals dumped in the 1970s are still seeping into the food chain. But the Yurok Tribe is confident their birds will be OK.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Seeing Mars on Earth
Kim Stanley Robinson on how the High Sierra has influenced his science fiction.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
The Yurok Tribe is bringing condors home to Northern California skies
Hunters, dairy farmers, utility operators, loggers, government agents and conservationists have all supported the tribe in helping North America’s largest land-based birds.
Posted inArticles
Yes, the drought really is that bad
The Western U.S. is experiencing its worst drought since 800 A.D.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
From river bottom to meadow
A runner in Ojai, California, considers how access to public space isn’t necessarily a given.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
How place names impact the way we see landscape
Western landscapes and their names are stratified with personal memories, ancestral teachings, mythic events and colonial disturbances.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
The lion king of Los Angeles
After Miguel Ordeñana discovered mountain lion P-22 in urban LA, he became a key advocate for habitat connectivity, which is essential for the species’ survival in Southern California.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Why is this California sheriff suddenly interested in ‘environmental crimes?’
Law enforcement takes center stage in Siskiyou County’s fight over who can, and can’t, use land and water.
Posted inArticles
Air quality report card flunks the West
Western states dominate lists of where short-term particulate and ozone pollution are the worst.