Expect more fires like the fast-moving one in Malibu, scientists say.
California
Unhoused people pay a disproportionate price for the West’s deadly roads
People experiencing homelessness are more likely to die from transportation-related injuries than the general population.
Can land repair the nation’s racist past?
California’s approach to Black reparations shifts toward land access, ownership and stewardship.
2024 was a year of wacky Western weather
When assessing the region, not much was normal but climate change.
How blue jeans got their sexy reputation
The artist George Quaintance painted some of the first erotic depictions of denim.
Audio: How nature can thrive despite human impact
What disturbance-loving plants teach.
Why did Nevada vote to ban slavery, when California didn’t?
Both states require incarcerated people to work — often for critical and dangerous jobs.
Western monarch butterflies favor private land. Now what?
A new analysis of the butterflies’ migration routes shows the need for collaborative conservation.
Key Senate and House races remain uncalled across the West
A dramatic shift by Latino voters toward Trump helped create a red wave.
Forest therapy for wildfire survivors
Spending time in the woods can help wildfire survivors recover.
Lovesick elk, flamingo fathers, Frankensheep and Bach for bison
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Migrating birds find refuge in pop-up habitats
A program that pays rice farmers to create wetland habitats is a rare conservation win.
Befriending wildfire
A new book from Obi Kaufmann illustrates the reciprocal connection between California ecosystems and fire.
The downballot issues driving the West’s 2024 elections
From climate and public lands to shifting political allegiances, the region faces critical choices at the ballot box.
Audio: What do we really learn from trail cams?
Documenting wildlife can bring us back to nature.
The California Forever debate moves underground
A billionaire-backed company will continue sowing support, while residents weigh their options.
What happens when a concrete jungle becomes a ‘sponge city’
Engineering for flood resilience can address storms heightened by climate change.
The scrappy store that gave me everything when I had nothing
Before its demise, the 99 Cents Only chain fed generations of families across four states.
What a 9,000-mile butterfly migration taught me about queer survival
‘Painted ladies’ go through extraordinary journeys, kindred to that of many LTBTQ+ people.
Kinkajous, coprolites and geothermal jamborees
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
