A history of environmental exploitation fails to imagine an alternative.
Economy
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Could Alaska help lessen international dependence on Russian oil?
A proposed LNG project spanning the state would export natural gas, but could harm land, wildlife & subsistence harvests.
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Should we worry about 8 billion people?
Breaking down population’s role in the environmental impact equation.
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Is carbon capture the solution for jobs and climate action in fossil fuel country?
A project in Wyoming’s coal region brings the new technology, but critics say it carries unacceptable risks.
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Bighorn-lovers butt heads with Vail Resorts’ affordable housing
The ski industry giant wants to build workforce housing in wild sheep habitat.
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When a full-time job isn’t enough
Workers in Phoenix experience higher rates of inflation than the rest of the country. Healthcare workers, in particular, are experiencing the pinch.
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The West’s hottest county is also its most Latino
Some places in Imperial County, California, experienced 117 days above 100 degrees this year.
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When a housing crisis meets a megaflood
June’s massive Yellowstone-area floods illuminated and worsened housing inequities across southwestern Montana.
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Local priorities and USDA funding strategies meet up in Southeast Alaska
The Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy shifts how the federal government finances the region’s rural development projects.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
Can ravaged economies be healed with a restoration industry?
Cleaning up the West could be as lucrative as wrecking it.
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What’s it like to live in a tourist town with no tourists?
After the floods, Yellowstone gateway communities are grappling with what comes next.
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The rise of the restoration economy
Filling the economic void left by the extraction economy by healing the land.
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Washington’s largest homeless encampment faces an uncertain future
With the state planning to spend $24 million on relocation, residents of Camp Hope aspire to self determination and continued community.
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The San Juan Basin’s fossil fuel transition slowed by economic and cultural bonds
The region’s history with prosperity in the oil and gas industry looms over conversations about how to diversify its economy.
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How growing Western rec towns might hold onto their futures
Researchers look to give small tourism communities the tools for a GNARly approach.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Who’s after rare metals in the Klamath Mountains?
While the region has a small cache of tellurium, politics and economics are in the way.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
The Navajo Nation’s first economist takes a fresh view on development
Alisha Murphy discusses her vision of a robust tribal economy and the importance of community input.
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See the Western conservation projects getting Infrastructure Act money this year
Approximately $68 million will be delivered to more than 100 projects across the country — many of which are based in the West.
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Why rural communities struggle to bring in much-needed federal grants
A new analysis suggests that over half of communities in the West lack the capacity to take advantage of infrastructure bill funding. Now what?
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How the economy of Indian Country impacts local communities
A ‘stealth’ economy for tribes often hides billions of dollars in jobs, growth and revenue.