Three firefighters have died as fires continue to rip through Washington.
Growth & Sustainability
Posted inArticles
Shell exacerbates housing shortage in Alaska port town
Nation’s largest fishing port was already short on housing. With Shell in town, locals say things are getting worse.
Posted inArticles
Military and enviros align in Arizona’s public lands debate
Demand for housing, recreation and energy development means military bases could lose essential buffer land.
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California drought renews push for water storage projects
A long-standing proposal to enlarge Shasta Dam gets a boost from the Bureau of Reclamation.
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Freeway closure by flash flood should teach us a lesson
Is it time to diversify the West’s transportation options?
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National parks scramble to keep up with the crowds
Does Utah’s mega tourism campaign compromise the outdoor experience?
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Dam bill for Green River revives industrialist dream
Boosters want Fontenelle Dam to divert more water in southwest Wyoming.
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Lake Mead watch: As levels fall, hydropower dips
Why Southwest utilities are starting to sweat.
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Lake Mead watch: six inches from the level that triggers cutbacks
If water curtailments go into effect, which states are most vulnerable, and why?
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Sightseeing at an open pit mine in Arizona copper country
The mines are still in business, yet towns that once flourished are now mostly gone.
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Huge new ‘communities’ planned for Tucson, Albuquerque
Sprawl rises from its slumber, but urban renaissance is still thriving.
Posted inApril 27, 2015: Lost frontier
Tucson’s rain-catching revolution
In the Sonoran Desert, rainwater harvesting is finally going mainstream.
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Are we in a megadrought?
As the dry-spell continues, a radio forum on water security in Western states.
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Unwanted California tires end up in rivers and beaches
But efforts to use the trash as building materials in Mexico offer new hope.
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Dispatch from a gas patch shopping trip
Reporters Notebook from New Mexico’s San Juan Basin.
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California has one year of water left: Hype or reality?
When a NASA scientist speaks in blunt terms about water supply, other scientists take notice.
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How ‘amenity migrants’ push out locals
Communities once sustained by local labor now rely on stock market dividends.
Posted inMarch 16, 2015: Wild Ride
A giant resort overshadows a tiny Colorado town
A teacher’s perspective of big changes to a small town.
Posted inMarch 16, 2015: Wild Ride
Health impacts of wood smoke
A look at which stoves and furnaces emit the most particles damaging to your health, plus which states burn the most wood.
Posted inMarch 16, 2015: Wild Ride
The quietest and noisiest spots in the West
Some places are 20 decibels or less, similar to levels in pre-Colonial times.