The president has riled up just about everyone with his public-land policies. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Natural gas
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5 new state bills that could shape the future of energy in Alaska
The state’s legislative session has just begun. Here are the bills climate activists are watching.
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New Mexico’s new pollution rules leave oil and gas operators to police themselves
Lack of enforcement allows industry to keep emitting greenhouse gases, evidence shows.
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Colorado works on an oil and gas well cleanup guarantee, but doubts loom
The state’s financial assurance process called ‘the strongest in the nation.’
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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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The nonprofits cleaning up the oil and gas industry’s ‘dirty little secret’
These organizations are tackling the vast problem of orphaned wells.
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Trump tried to open Alaska lands to resource development — what will Biden do?
The Bureau of Land Management is taking comments on whether it should open about 28 million acres to oil, gas and mineral extraction.
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Alaska environmentalists disappointed by Inflation Reduction Act compromise
The bill includes historic investments in climate programs — and expands oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
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Alaska’s Willow Project promises huge amounts of oil — and huge environmental impacts
Residents in nearby Nuiqsut worry that oil and gas development is ‘too fast and too much.’
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
How oil companies endlessly avoid cleanup costs
In Colorado, a sale of 110 low-producing oil wells illustrates a hot potato effect, and how funding remediation eventually comes from the public.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
The hydrogen blues (and greens and grays)
Is this wonder fuel truly green — or just another fossil fuel in disguise?
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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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What the Ukraine war means for Western lands
War hawks and climate hawks alike are calling for energy independence.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Russia’s war reverberates in the West
Putin’s military moves — and the globe’s response to them — have unexpected consequences for the region.
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Biden’s broken promise on climate?
The administration resumes oil and gas leasing — and fixes a dysfunctional system in the process.
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Biden pledged to stop drilling on public lands. What happened?
The president reversed a key part of his agenda that was intended to combat the climate crisis.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Cows, coal and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses how the federal agency sees conservation, the climate crisis and the Indigenous history of public lands.
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Redlined neighborhoods have double the oil and gas wells
A new study shows how fossil fuels and structural racism collide.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
How a Tacoma gas facility started a fight over climate change, sovereignty and human rights
A Washington methane gas project is compounding a crisis of tribal consultation, pension funds and national immigration practices.
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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.