In ‘Breathing Fire,’ Jaime Lowe uncovers the benefits and drawbacks of California’s inmate fire program.
Danger
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.
Posted inArticles
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.
Posted inArticles
The essential — and dangerous — work prisoners do
Incarcerated people respond to pandemics, wildfires, avian flu outbreaks, mudslides and more.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
Americans go on a gun-buying frenzy
Gun-related violence soars along with sales.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
Will COVID-19 vaccinations mean more prison overcrowding deaths?
California’s decades-old ‘tough on crime’ laws still fill prisons, creating disease danger zones.
Posted inArticles
What is the pandemic’s lasting impact on first responders?
In Los Angeles County, as COVID-19 surged, EMTs faced the unimaginable, forcing them to take unimaginable measures.
Posted inArticles
Mass shootings are a product of America’s violent culture
The bloodthirsty legacies of settler-colonialism and Western expansion endure today.
Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast
This year’s deadly avalanche season
Low snowfall has led to catastrophic conditions around the West.
Posted inArticles
Untested chemicals star in the COVID-theater
And raise concerns about the efficacy of hastily approved disinfectants.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
Drowning the derelicts: Yesterday’s boats are today’s problems
States and municipalities from Alaska to California struggle to dispose of old vessels without federal support.
Posted inArticles
Are wildfires contaminating your drinking water?
Manufactured substances known as volatile organic compounds pollute water around the U.S., and they’re heightened in the aftermath of fires.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
Climate change intensifies tsunami threat in Alaska
As glaciers retreat and permafrost thaws, massive landslides threaten coastal communities.
Posted inArticles
New Mexico’s oil fields have a sinkhole problem
The hunt for industrial brine has opened massive and unexpected sinkholes, which is taking delicate work, and more than $54 million, to fill.
Posted inArticles
Bracing for unlawful militias and vigilantes at the ballot box
Emboldened by Trump’s rhetoric, armed groups plan to post up near poll sites.
Posted inArticles
Colorado’s wildfires require a drastic and collective fix
Climate change should be seen as a number one priority.
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
In the face of #MMIWG, Indigenous women fight back
On the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, girls and women box, march and continue searching for those lost.
Posted inArticles
West coast wildfires signal a planetary fire age
Beyond climate change, history has helped create the pyrocene.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
When home is next to an oil refinery
All I knew about Wilmington, California, was poverty, so I long hid my connection to it.
Posted inArticles
Colorado public schools turn to outdoor instruction during COVID-19
These classes have become a key safety tactic as in-person learning returns.