Locals worry what this could mean for a region dominated by agritourism.
Pollution
Posted inAugust 2024: In the Wake of the Floods
Indigenous celebration of Hanford remembers the site before nuclear contamination
At the fourth annual Hanford Journey, Yakama Nation youth, elders and scientists share stories about a land that is a part of them.
Posted inArticles
Project 2025’s extreme vision for the West
The demolition of public lands, water and wildlife protections are part of conservatives’ plan for a second Trump term.
Posted inArticles
Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking
Climate, public lands and tribal law regulations are now likely to face legal challenges.
Posted inArticles
When grasshoppers attack
Is the cure for grasshopper outbreaks worse than the disease?
Posted inArticles
What happens to birds when it’s smoky outside?
A community science initiative along the West Coast is using volunteer observations to study the effect of wildfire smoke on birds.
Posted inArticles
Polluted air threatens the health of New Mexico infants
A new study finds a link between air pollution and low birth weight.
Posted inJuly 2024
Abandoned mines cover the West
Their legacy is destruction and pollution of lands and waters.
Posted inJuly 2024
Pollution knows no borders
A long-awaited agreement will address Canadian mine waste flowing downriver into Montana
and Idaho.
Posted inArticles
Colorado’s oil and gas rules put taxpayers at risk, according to study
The report contradicts claims that the new rules are the ‘most robust in the country.’
Posted inArticles
What’s next for Willamette Falls?
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde move the second largest waterfall toward public access.
Posted inArticles
Spring on Alaska’s Unuk River shouldn’t mean fighting for our way of life
Transboundary-mining pollution threatens our sovereign rights.
Posted inArticles
Cancer is killing firefighters. So this city is going PFAS-free.
San Francisco is the first major American city to ban the substance from protective gear.
Posted inArticles
Drilling for oil on public land is about to cost a lot more
Long-awaited Interior Department policy will raise financial assurance and royalty rates.
Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys
What’s going on with natural gas exports?
The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of LNG, but President Biden just paused new permits.
Posted inArticles
Washington’s controversial cap-and-trade program, explained. Really.
It’s hailed as the strongest in the nation, but will it reduce carbon pollution equitably?
Posted inArticles
Pollution and pollinators: Why stopping to smell the flowers has become difficult
A new study shows that car emissions make it hard for pollinators to find flowers.
Posted inMarch 2024: Fertile Ground
The dangers of PFAS — and of downplaying their ubiquity
Even well-meaning officials often provide inadequate or misleading information, putting communities at higher risk.
Posted inArticles
The good, the bad and the ugly of the state legislative season
While Congress does nothing, Western state lawmakers pass a flurry of consequential and/or crazy — bills.
Posted inArticles
Oil industry profits don’t pay for cleanup
A failure of regulation has allowed industry to avoid the true cost of cleaning up its unplugged wells.