In the Central Valley, oil and agriculture both support and harm communities, making air pollution a complex problem.
Pollution
Posted inFebruary 22, 2016: Fractured
The ‘poisoned landscapes’ we leave behind
Q&A with photographer David T. Hanson about his new book, ‘Wilderness to Wasteland,’ which shows a dystopian side of progress.
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Scalia was Supreme Court’s leader on limiting environmental rules
A conservative legal foundation fears its winning streak may be over.
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Western states react strongly to Supreme Court stay of Clean Power Plan
Some states stop all work on cutting greenhouse gases but others forge ahead.
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Did Colorado leave residents of the Raton Basin with bad water?
Regulators don’t link industry to contamination — but testing shows the pollution came after drilling.
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BLM proposes rules for oil and gas methane emissions
The rule will help conserve natural gas and mitigate pollution, targeting 100,000 existing wells.
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Massive leaks are an everyday occurrence in gas fields
California’s Aliso Canyon is a reminder that methane emissions are widespread, poorly regulated — and ongoing.
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Feds announce moratorium on new coal leases
Interior Department will examine the federal coal program in light of climate change.
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Slow-motion methane disaster
Aliso Canyon has leaked more greenhouse gases in two months than a coal mine does in a year.
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States lack rules for radioactive drilling waste disposal
New report calls for stronger regulation to protect human health and water quality.
Posted inNovember 23, 2015: Water Hustle
Why are Western attorneys general going rogue?
Attorneys general sue the federal government, despite state governors’ objections.
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Among those who fish the polluted Duwamish, a divide between haves and have-nots
We pull off the highway into a gritty-looking industrial park less than 100 yards from the road and snap our rods together. It’s just a few steps down the banks to this Seattle river where we can see the silver bellies of the pink salmon flipping in the current, slinging themselves upstream. We tie lures […]
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Raw manure, public water and a failed crackdown: the case of Snydar Farm
Washington’s Dept. of Ecology appears hesitant and often barred from regulating agriculture.
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Contaminated soil lingers where apples once grew in Washington
Soil at hundreds of properties contains lead and arsenic that can lower children’s IQs and increase cancer risk.
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A pumpjack is not a coal mine
Eight things you need to know about coalbed methane mining.
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Legal challenges over Exxon Valdez sputter to an end
Lingering oil remains and ecological monitoring will continue. But Alaskans are moving on.
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In Colorado, a ‘rental crisis’ forces workers into the woods
Tent cities, waste and overcrowding have created something foul in Crested Butte.
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No direction home
Nearly a year after San Jose shut down the Bay Area’s biggest homeless encampment, hundreds still live along city creeks. What went wrong?
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EPA releases a stricter, health-based smog standard
Failure to meet the new requirements can trigger serious economic consequences for some communities.
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Can herbicides keep Tahoe blue?
A new chemical weed management plan has the lake’s water suppliers nervous.