Tribal scientists and community members are testing wells, solving plumbing problems and delivering clean water to their neighbors.
Pollution
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How yellowcake shaped the West
The ghosts of the uranium boom continue to haunt the land, water and people.
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Living Water: Three generations of Apsáalooke revive a river
On the Crow Nation, scientists, students and community members come together to study and protect the Little Bighorn River.
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Development threatens one of Montana’s ‘blue-ribbon’ trout rivers
Noxious algae is choking the very watershed that’s drawing people to develop property there.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
Reclaiming LA
Communities in Los Angeles are turning industrial sites into pockets of green.
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Can the sun solve New Mexico’s energy conundrum?
The state is dependent on oil and gas, but Carlsbad has opportunity to become the epicenter of renewable energy.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
‘I’m scared of getting sick from the water’
Some rural California communities have waited nearly a decade for state regulators to repair their tainted drinking-water systems.
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The toxic, soupy biomass choking water systems in California
Algae blooms in Clear Lake are a public health risk and increase water treatment costs.
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Captured methane can address climate change and offset electricity costs
As coal mines continue to close, there’s a use for the greenhouse gas that continues seeping from operations.
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The health hazards of California’s neighborhood drilling
Much of the state’s oil extraction takes place in residential areas, often in Spanish-speaking communities, but there’s a lack of research detailing its impact.
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What the narwhal can tell us about the climate crisis
An analysis of the species’ 10-foot-long tusk shows an accumulation of mercury and a change in diet as sea ice retreats.
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Study finds wildfire caused massive bird die-off
Research using crowdsourced data found a correlation with the birds’ deaths, nearby fires and toxic air.
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California tackles microplastics in drinking water
Despite no standard method for testing, the state looks to help consumers with the threat of the ubiquitous contaminants.
Posted inApril 1, 2021: Holding Fast
Energy companies have left Colorado with billions of dollars in oil and gas cleanup
As the state tries to reform its relationship to drilling, an expensive task awaits.
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Put unemployed miners and drillers back to work in restoration
There’s economic development in reclaiming coal mines and plugging idled wells.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Nevada lithium mine kicks off a new era of Western extraction
The hastily approved project went forward without comment from the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe.
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New Mexico eyed for major nuclear waste storage facility
Critics say virtual meetings bypassed rural communities and raise concerns about the company behind the proposal.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
Drowning the derelicts: Yesterday’s boats are today’s problems
States and municipalities from Alaska to California struggle to dispose of old vessels without federal support.
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New Mexico is on track to have the weakest methane emissions regulations in the nation
Laguna Pueblo Gov. Wilfred Herrera, Jr., urges the state to strengthen its proposed air quality rules.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
In California, 1 million people lack access to clean water
Why one community has struggled with arsenic in its water for so long, despite the state’s Human Right to Water law.