A Washington methane gas project is compounding a crisis of tribal consultation, pension funds and national immigration practices.
Energy & Industry
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
The digital world’s real-world impact on the environment
From data center warehouses to cryptocurrency, technology is another energy hog.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Portland community leaders bring the heat to building standards
An activist collective says making buildings carbon-free is just the start.
Posted inArticles
Will the EPA partially close a Wyoming coal plant that’s one of the nation’s largest polluters?
The decision affects the local economy and air quality — and could create an opening for renewable energy.
Posted inArticles
Conservation groups should be able to lease land to protect it
‘Use it or lose it’ rules can bias public-land management in favor of extraction.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Electric vehicles drive up demand for ‘green metals’
The need for energy-transition metals breathes life into new mines in the West.
Posted inArticles
Interior devotes billions to plugging old oil wells. Is it enough?
The agency under-counted abandoned wells by more than half, which means the effort covers only a fraction of the cost.
Posted inArticles
Biden’s ‘herky-jerky’ first year on Western issues
The new president sacrificed bold executive action to try to win over Congress.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
EPA prohibits White Mesa Mill from receiving Superfund waste
Energy Fuels Resources was found in violation for improper handling of radioactive waste storage.
Posted inArticles
Offshore oil rigs are a surprising safe haven
Marine life finds a home on the artificial reefs. What happens when the platforms are decommissioned?
Posted inArticles
Building equity into the renewable energy transition
Community and labor organizers shape New Mexico’s changing economy.
Posted inArticles
40 years after its closure, the Jackpile Mine’s toxic legacy continues
‘They have to look at it every day and wonder if that’s the reason why they’re dying.’
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Arizona’s utility commission slashed just transition assistance for tribes
The Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe will receive significantly less funds to assist in economy after the end of coal.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
As coal plants close, Wyoming looks toward nuclear
Is a new generation of nuclear technology a ‘shiny object’ or a solution to a faltering fossil fuel economy?
Posted inArticles
Interior’s new oil-and gas-leasing roadmap sidesteps climate action
The report leaves the door open for new leases on public land. What does that mean for the West?
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Wind turbines proposed near a Japanese American incarceration camp prompt outrage
The Lava Ridge Wind Farm in Idaho would more than double the state’s wind energy output, but at what cost?
Posted inArticles
The Westiest programs in Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The act is the New Deal redux, with a splash of ecosystem restoration.
Posted inArticles
Bringing the fight against dams to COP26
Indigenous activists and allies from Oregon to Chile are highlighting how dams harm the climate and Indigenous peoples worldwide.
Posted inArticles
The hunt for critical minerals in Colorado raises critical questions
When Earth MRI began surveying, residents grew concerned about the prospect of mining.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
The nation’s last uranium mill plans to import Estonia’s radioactive waste
Utah says the White Mesa Mill isn’t contaminating groundwater, but its neighbor, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, disagrees.