Blazes in California and Utah have officials on alert, but what they spell for the coming season is unclear.
California
Posted inFebruary 16, 2015: Chainsaw Diplomacy
Statistical realism
David Hughes crunches unpopular numbers for the shale oil boom.
Posted inArticles
California’s water future at a crossroads
A state commission begins deliberations on how to spend $2.7B for water storage.
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Dry January means more drought across West
After a rainy December, many states now have lower-than-normal snowpacks.
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A new film tells the story of the Klamath River agreements
Republican lawmaker-turned-filmmaker, Jason Atkinson on why conservation doesn’t have to be a partisan issue.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2015: This Land is Their Land
Balanced rocks can tell us about earthquake risk
Seismologists study precarious boulders to determine how hard the ground might shake.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2015: This Land is Their Land
Love in a post-apocalyptic world
Review of “California” by Edan Lepucki.
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.
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Regulators dampen hopes for tribal solar project
The Moapa Solar Energy Center would have provided 175 megawatts to Nevada’s largest utility.
Posted inDecember 22, 2014: The Dust Detectives
Shards of hope in the Mojave
Review of “29” by Mary Sojourner.
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How Native Americans have shaped the year’s biggest environmental debates
And how lawmakers can improve their record next year.
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Cities look to farms for help in Colorado River drought
West’s biggest water agencies finalize a major agreement to boost Lake Mead levels.
Posted inDecember 8, 2014: The Great Salmon Compromise
The Latest: A new tactic to quell Owen’s Valley dust
Los Angeles tries to save water and mitigate effects of sucking the valley dry.
Posted inDecember 8, 2014: The Great Salmon Compromise
When neighbors spray herbicides next to your organic crop
Living together with local resentments in Northern California.
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Virus implicated in starfish wasting disease
A team of scientists have figured out what’s killing West Coast sea stars, but bigger mysteries remain.
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Residential wells run completely dry in the Central Valley
The drought is not an abstract threat for families in Porterville, California.
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Analyst challenges predictions for Western oil booms
North Dakota and Texas fields could be at a fraction of current productivity by 2040, says a new report.
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Water use is lower than it’s been in 45 years
U.S. population has grown by 105 million people since 1970, yet we somehow shrank our water footprint.
Posted inNovember 10, 2014: Fallout
California’s sweeping new groundwater regulations
Will the law finally mean better aquifer management for the drought-stricken state?
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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.”