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Nuclear energy
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Fallout: First cancer, now delayed compensation for Indigenous downwinder communities
Bureaucratic roadblocks mean ‘apology’ payouts are hard to access for Indigenous communities exposed to nuclear tests.
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Uranium mining threatens our home, the Grand Canyon
Since time immemorial, the Havasupai have lived inside the natural wonder. We face yet another peril.
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Tom Udall: It’s past time we confront the climate and nature crises
For our survival, we can look to my father’s vision as an alternative to our current path.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
Nuclear power is clean – if you ignore all the waste
Compare the annual waste produced by a coal-burning power plant and a nuclear generating station.
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Effort to lock Hanford’s radioactive waste in glass faces more delays
Feds aim to push back the opening of ‘glassification’ plants, while state officials say the Department of Energy has been underfunding the cleanup of America’s most poisoned site.
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Is renewable energy’s future dammed?
A proposed hydroelectric project on the Little Colorado River shows the tricky trade-offs in transitioning from fossil fuels.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
Feds give Navajo uranium contract to firm with sketchy past
A High Country News investigation finds the EPA awarded Tetra Tech a contract despite knowing its subsidiary had likely engaged in data manipulation, false reporting and profiteering.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
While ‘zombie’ mines idle, cleanup and workers suffer in limbo
Instead of paying to clean up the mess left by mining, companies are warehousing their operations indefinitely.
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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
Last words from a desert scribe
Essayist Ellen Meloy’s posthumous collection is profound, outspoken and hilarious.
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.
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When a huge utility company pledges to go carbon free
Xcel Energy says it wants to ‘step up and do more’ to reduce greenhouse gases.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Is nuclear energy the key to saving the planet?
A new generation of environmentalists is learning to stop worrying and love atomic power.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
There’s no easy fix for our nuclear past
At Washington’s Hanford nuclear site, failing infrastructure and make-do plans as the West prepares for a new round of radioactivity.
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In the West, climate action falters on the ballot
While climate-focused candidates won key races in the region, ballot initiatives to limit fossil fuels’ effects failed.
Posted inSeptember 17, 2018: The Pioneer of Ruin
The West’s atomic past, in opera halls
On stage and in Congress, Trinity test downwinders fight for recognition.
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Arizona’s nuclear power caught in crossfire
A renewable energy ballot measure could up the state’s reliance on cleaner energy.
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Politics are behind a plan to prop up coal and nuclear
Discussion of a ‘grid emergency’ ignores cheaper alternatives like solar and wind.