Wyoming researchers find current models may underestimate how smoke blocks sunlight and cools the planet.
Drought
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Will the climate crisis tap out the Colorado River?
Water availability is going from bad to worse in the seven states that rely on the drought-stricken river.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Despite discrimination and drought, Punjabi Americans farm on
As America’s food basket dries out, Punjabi American growers fear the loss of their hard-earned farmlands.
Posted inArticles
After months of border wall construction, a look at the damage done
As President Biden takes the helm, conservation groups take stock of the border wall’s environmental impacts.
Posted inArticles
Colorado ranchers adapt for a changing climate
Regenerative agriculture can help address drought and topsoil degradation.
Posted inArticles
Six states threaten lawsuits if feds fast-track the Lake Powell Pipeline
The Trump Administration’s plan to expedite review of Utah’s diversion project undoes decades of collaborative agreements between the states that rely on the Colorado River.
Posted inArticles
Fast-growing Western cities face megadrought
Eleven states and northern Mexico will likely experience a drought more severe than any since the 1500s.
Posted inArticles
Thirsty crops and vulnerable families vie for California’s precious water
Farmers are pumping until residential wells run dry in the Central Valley.
Posted inArticles
There’s a new boom in the Permian Basin — wastewater
As freshwater supplies shrink, interest in recycling water leftover from fracking is growing. Others aren’t so sure.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
Montana’s water rights fractured by new development
As subdivisions spread, it’s becoming harder to manage one of the state’s most valuable resources.
Posted inArticles
A remote island sees just a third of its pelicans return for breeding season
Low Great Salt Lake levels mean coyotes can get onto the island.
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
The tyranny of lawns and landlords
Renting culture puts dreams of cultivating wildness out of reach.
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River needs a long-term plan for drought
Western states bought some time with a historic agreement but still face a hotter, drier future.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
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.
Posted inArticles
After a wet winter, will Colorado forest managers increase prescribed burns?
The heavy snowpack could hinder this underused wildfire control tactic.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
The West’s worst fires aren’t burning in forests
Range fires get bigger every year, threatening sagebrush habitat and rural towns.
Posted inMarch 4, 2019: El Nuevo Movimiento
One family makes sense of losing its Colorado River water
Pinal County farmers suffer more drastic cuts than cities in Arizona’s tenuous drought plan.
Posted inJanuary 21, 2019: What Killed Washington's Carbon Tax?
Update: The decline of Western snowpack is real
Data confirms climate model predictions of less snow that melts earlier in the season.
Posted inArticles
How best to share the disappearing Colorado River
Seven Western states must rewrite the rules of the river and cut water use — before they bleed the critical artery dry.