Science is essential to managing wildlife populations, but there are limits to what we know.
Technology
Posted inArticles
The big data center buildup
An AI server farm tsunami threatens to overwhelm the West’s power grid and water supplies.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
‘Our mission is to change the world through eco-cultural tourism’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
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Can AI translate Native languages in times of disaster?
In the wake of Typhoon Halong, an AI language company wants to hire Native translators, raising questions about data sovereignty.
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
For rural Californians, unreliable power has become the norm
Years ago, the state’s largest utility rolled out a power outage program designed to reduce wildfires. Customers now experience thousands of outages a year.
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Resistance to data centers rises on the border
In Doña Ana County, New Mexico, residents have long struggled to access clean water. Now, developers plan to spend $165 billion on a massive data center complex.
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Access to public land? There’s an app for that
Tech is facilitating land access in new, and sometimes fraught, ways.
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The invisible ‘giant nets’ that catch the smallest songbirds
Collaboration and tiny technology are revolutionizing the study of migration.
Posted inAugust 2025: Fire Culture
The West’s data centers suck (water and power)
From simple searches to chatGPT, the big digital buildup threatens the grid and water supplies.
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See what trail cams captured about Borderlands wildlife
Alongside stunning footage, scientists found that the border wall deters wildlife.
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Hunting for dark nights and wishing on stars
A bike ride into the desert and an author in search of darkness.
Posted inApril 2025: A Monumental Reckoning
Is a nuclear renaissance coming?
Data center power demand is sparking interest in new reactors.
Posted inMarch 2025: The Berry Pickers
The video game that makes the climate apocalypse look good
In The Alluvials, artist Alice Bucknell reimagines the Los Angeles water system.
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AI on public lands and Biden’s environmental legacy
The 46th president finished his term in customary contradictory style.
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Audio: What do we really learn from trail cams?
Documenting wildlife can bring us back to nature.
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
Venezuelan migrants use social media to counter xenophobia
In the face of anti-immigration rhetoric, content creators show the ‘good outnumber the bad.’
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods
A silicon revival in the West
Is the region ready to produce the world’s most advanced technology?
Posted inArticles
Data centers could set back climate progress
AI, cryptocurrency “mining” and our digital lifestyles imperil the energy transition — and the planet.
Posted inJune 2024: The Idea of Wilderness
What if the future is the past?
Degrowth offers a path for dealing with our serious environmental issues.
Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst
How solar geoengineering is clouding issues of tribal consent
‘Move fast, break things’ approach runs into issues of tribal authority.