In ‘Breathing Fire,’ Jaime Lowe uncovers the benefits and drawbacks of California’s inmate fire program.
California
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Native students fight to wear traditional regalia at graduation
‘They took my sealskin cap, Mom.’
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Will history repeat in a dry Klamath Basin this summer?
This year’s drought is worse than in 2001, when political and environmental tensions exploded into the national spotlight.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
Ongoing fish kill on the Klamath River is an ‘absolute worst-case scenario’
Unprecedented drought in the Klamath Basin leaves communities wondering how they will make it through the summer.
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The Central California town that keeps sinking
The very ground upon which Corcoran was built is steadily collapsing, a situation caused primarily by agriculture.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
The West’s Asian Americans arm up for self-defense
Once denied their Second Amendment rights, Asian Americans are heading to gun shops in droves.
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Klamath Tribes want beavers back in the Beaver State
Reintroducing the species creates important habitat for First Foods. But state laws don’t work in the animal’s favor.
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A parched West heads into fire season
Several types of drought are converging, and all are at or near record levels.
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Is California’s carbon offset program actually helping the environment?
How a nonprofit cashed in on carbon credit exchanges without reducing emissions.
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Solving the West’s housing crisis
We need to care for the priced-out average worker or something is bound to break.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
How ‘sustainable’ is California’s groundwater sustainability act?
Numerous issues around equity and the plan’s rollout loom.
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The battle over Point Reyes’ tule elk
The needs of the ungulate and cattle supported by California’s Point Reyes National Seashore have different needs and created a years-long conflict.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
‘I’m scared of getting sick from the water’
Some rural California communities have waited nearly a decade for state regulators to repair their tainted drinking-water systems.
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The toxic, soupy biomass choking water systems in California
Algae blooms in Clear Lake are a public health risk and increase water treatment costs.
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On the Klamath River, agricultural interests are pitted against the needs of tribes and endangered species
Due to severe drought, irrigation allotments were decreased to lowest amounts in history.
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California orders Nestlé to stop siphoning spring water
The world’s largest food and beverage company is accused of taking millions more gallons than it is entitled to.
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Captured methane can address climate change and offset electricity costs
As coal mines continue to close, there’s a use for the greenhouse gas that continues seeping from operations.
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The story of Stephen Vest’s killing and how wildfires intensify tragedy
Vest survived California’s largest wildfire but was left unhoused. Last year he was killed in an incident where police shot at him 11 times.
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The essential — and dangerous — work prisoners do
Incarcerated people respond to pandemics, wildfires, avian flu outbreaks, mudslides and more.
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There are no clear winners in the West’s water wars
As climate stressors raise the stakes, states put energy into litigation before conservation.