Climate action on public lands would force a reckoning for fossil fuel dependent states and communities.
New Mexico
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
Who pays for infrastructure in Borderland colonias?
In places like Vado, New Mexico, good roads are hard to find.
Posted inArticles
The fallout of uncertainty in nuclear test communities
For downwinders of bomb testing, plans for compensation to redress past harms makes for tricky politics.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
Staffers allege misconduct at BLM’s busiest oil and gas office
Complaints to Interior’s Office of Inspector General reveal concerns that the Carlsbad Field Office broke laws to favor industry.
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River needs a long-term plan for drought
Western states bought some time with a historic agreement but still face a hotter, drier future.
Posted inArticles
New Mexico’s oil boom has made rural roads deadly
As oil wells multiply in the Permian Basin, the influx of heavy vehicles exacerbates risks for those living in the area.
Posted inArticles
It’s time to move the Bureau of Land Management out of D.C.
(Most) of those living in the West have the public lands’ best interest at heart.
Posted inArticles
Court throws book at BLM over fracking Chaco
The agency failed to consider water use.
Posted inArticles
Western states work to shore up abortion access
‘State laws might become the law of the land.’
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
See where PFAS pollution has been confirmed in the West
Western states lag behind in both monitoring and regulating the class of ‘forever chemicals.’
Posted inMay 27, 2019: Public Pushback
Plumbing the Gila for solace and hope
A new book contemplates nature, solitude, grief and grace.
Posted inArticles
Public lands top Rep. Debra Haaland’s agenda
One of the first Native American women elected to Congress is fighting fossil fuel development on ‘the most pristine and beautiful places in our country.’
Posted inJune 10, 2019: 'None of this happened the way you think it did'
The hidden consequences of New Mexico’s latest oil boom
Carlsbad residents are experiencing health impacts, but the science behind their woes lags behind the pace of drilling.
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
The transformation of a centuries-old refuge in New Mexico
With 300,000 visitors every year, how can Chimayó’s history be preserved?
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
A road trip through New Mexico’s atomic past
As nuclear tourism booms in the Land of Enchantment, histories of violence are packaged, sold and consumed.
Posted inMay 27, 2019: Public Pushback
Will the Trump administration boost uranium?
Energy industry lobbying could lead to more mining from Bears Ears to Wyoming.
Posted inApril 29, 2019: A History of Violence
New Mexico’s ‘mini’ Green New Deal, dissected
The Energy Transition Act could be a model for ambitious policies of the future.
Posted inArticles
Mining companies pollute waterways. Citizens pay.
Nearly 2 billion pounds of toxic waste were dumped into western waterways in 2017, and taxpayers are left to clean up the mess.
Posted inApril 29, 2019: A History of Violence
In Santa Fe, children learn the ABCs of inequity
Where students reside and where schools thrive highlights an opportunity gap in New Mexico’s capital.
Posted inMarch 4, 2019: El Nuevo Movimiento
Can beauty alone save a natural place?
Essays that unravel the mystique of the American West.