Wildfires and winter storms are costing utilities and families.
Energy & Industry
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
What Project 2025 has to say about Native communities
The initiative focuses heavily on resource extraction of tribal lands but lacks detail on other key issues.
Posted inArticles
Fracking inside the neighborhood
As a planned community near the Rockies rises, so do concerns over a oil and gas operation that would stretch under the homes.
Posted inArticles
The future of renewables in Arizona hinges on voters
The Arizona Corporation Commission has come under scrutiny for its continued support of fossil fuels and resistance to supporting more solar in the state. Three seats could make the difference.
Posted inArticles
The mother-daughter duo fighting fossil fuels in Colorado
How Madhvi and Lalitha Chittoor teamed up against a proposed oil and gas development.
Posted inArticles
Will exploratory lithium mining continue near a sacred hot spring?
A judge will decide the fate of Ha’Kamwe’ as the Hualapai Nation fights the drilling in court.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
The downballot issues driving the West’s 2024 elections
From climate and public lands to shifting political allegiances, the region faces critical choices at the ballot box.
Posted inArticles
Kamala Harris tries to navigate the convoluted politics of oil and gas
Drill, Democrats, drill?
Posted inArticles
The Department of Energy promised Yakama Nation $32 million for solar. It’s nearly impossible to access.
Held up by a series of bureaucratic hurdles, the funding could expire before the government lets the tribal nation touch a dime.
Posted inOctober 2024: Latino Vote
States own lands on reservations. To use them, tribes must pay.
How schools, hospitals, prisons and other institutions in 15 states profit from land and resources on 79 tribal nations.
Posted inArticles
5 takeaways from our investigation into state trust lands on reservations
An investigation by High Country News and Grist reveals how public institutions benefit from extractive industries on Indian reservations.
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
Preventing the next ‘Fukushima’
As oil and gas operations at Portland’s CEI Hub grow, so do the chances of a catastrophic spill.
Posted inArticles
The New Mexico utility that wants to go all in on green hydrogen
The project, like the larger green hydrogen economy, will need to overcome skepticism from local communities and funding challenges.
Posted inArticles
Washington solar project paused amid concern about Indigenous sites
Avangrid Renewables said they plan to review comments from tribal nations and private landowners.
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods
How New Mexico made child care free for most families
The state, long known for its challenges with child wellbeing, is now a leader in early childhood education.
Posted inArticles
Project 2025’s extreme vision for the West
The demolition of public lands, water and wildlife protections are part of conservatives’ plan for a second Trump term.
Posted inArticles
Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking
Climate, public lands and tribal law regulations are now likely to face legal challenges.
Posted inArticles
Polluted air threatens the health of New Mexico infants
A new study finds a link between air pollution and low birth weight.
Posted inJuly 2024
When a utility sparks a wildfire, who pays?
How Western utility companies are trying to shield themselves from wildfire costs and liabilities.
Posted inArticles
Colorado’s oil and gas rules put taxpayers at risk, according to study
The report contradicts claims that the new rules are the ‘most robust in the country.’