Gearing up for the fight against a new climate enemy.
Danger
Extreme wildfires make their own dangerous weather
And climate change is making it even worse.
Patriot militia groups mobilize during a deadly pandemic and massive protests
‘That has a real chilling effect on democratic practice.’
Colorado passes limits on dangerous ‘forever’ chemicals
As federal regulations lag, state water officials unanimously pass new PFAS limits.
A pandemic of both feminism and despair
In Lauren Beukes’ ‘Afterland,’ only women survive. Can they rebuild?
Wildland firefighters are risking their mental health
As climate change lengthens fire seasons, will the government do enough to protect them?
When wildlife safety turns into fierce political debate
In Island Park, Idaho, a fight over roadkill became a referendum on government control.
How not to fight a fire
Will we learn to confront an existential threat to the West for what it is?
When disaster strikes, Indigenous communities receive unequal recovery aid
U.S. citizens recovering from natural disasters receive $26 per person, per year from the federal government. Tribal citizens? Just $3.
In the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, investigators try to heal
At the coroner’s office, mental health issues arise in the wake of tragedy.
The Mormon Church supplied tainted water to its members for years
Utah regulators turned a blind eye to faulty water systems at a girls’ summer camp, trusting the LDS Church would eventually fix the problem.
In New Mexico, schools struggle to address a teen suicide crisis
Sixteen-year-old Aurra Gardner ended her life after her mother repeatedly asked school counselors for help.
Far-right extremists appropriate Indigenous struggles for violent ends
From Nazi Germany to Norway and El Paso, white nationalists use Indigenous imagery to justify racist violence.
‘Cyanide bombs’ use reauthorized to kill wild animals
The traps have caused unintentional deaths, but Wildlife Services can continue to employ them to protect livestock and farm crops.
Eco-fascism featured in El Paso terrorism suspect’s alleged manifesto
The racist rant calls for mass killings to make America more ‘sustainable.’ Other terrorists have done the same.
Immigrant detention centers grow as services lag behind
The federal government is giving contracts to agencies with checkered pasts and denying legally required aid.
Paranoia and a ‘preposterously’ oversized water tank
An affluent Utah community spent millions to extinguish its fear of fire. Decades later, they’re still trying to buy their way out of a bottomless pit.
The West’s worst fires aren’t burning in forests
Range fires get bigger every year, threatening sagebrush habitat and rural towns.
Wildfire escape routes? There’s (almost) an app for that.
Scientists are using crowdsourced data to help firefighters flee dangerous flames.
A road trip through New Mexico’s atomic past
As nuclear tourism booms in the Land of Enchantment, histories of violence are packaged, sold and consumed.
