Climate Change and the West

Can snowshoe hares outrace climate change?

The seasonal coat changes of snowshoe hares may provide wildlife biologists with clues about how wild animals evolve in response to climate change.

by Hillary Rosner, Feb 13, 2012
Can animals evolve quickly enough to survive global warming?

What can rapid evolution in response to climate change teach us about managing nature?

by Michelle Nijhuis , Feb 06, 2012
Utah's ancient Lake Bonneville holds clues to the West's changing climate

In Utah, scientists are exploring the site of a long-vanished inland sea called Lake Bonneville to understand the West's past - and future - climate.

by Douglas Fox, Nov 07, 2011
Great hope, great fear

The threat of climate change is terrifying, especially for people who fear for their children's future, but there is still hope, if we start working together.

by Auden Schendler, Aug 24, 2011
Ice matters

We're not just losing our glaciers; we're unraveling the systems that sustain all life on earth.

by Tim Lydon, Jul 27, 2011
Why the Southwest is burning

This season’s wildfires are caused by three things: Climate change-induced drought, bureaucratic blindness and old-fashioned human folly.

by William deBuys, Jun 30, 2011
Don't blame it all on global climate change

Climate change is a problem, but that doesn’t mean it’s responsible for every bad thing that happens in the West.

by Allen Best, Apr 13, 2011
It's March and all is well, right?

Just because the spring weather is lovely doesn't mean that climate change is not a problem.

by Tom Carter, Mar 15, 2011
Religious leaders shouldn't duck their responsibility

Western religious leaders need to speak out more strongly on the dangers of climate change.

by Tim Lydon, Feb 07, 2011
Ranchers can fight global climate change, one acre at a time

The great grasslands and rangelands of the West are a perfect place for carbon sequestration.

by Courtney White, Dec 07, 2010
Western Climate Initiative moves forward, smaller than imagined

Cap and trade is dead in Washington, D.C., but a few states are hoping to limit emissions through the Western Climate Initiative.

by Cally Carswell, Dec 06, 2010
Computer model slices and dices mountain climates

In Oregon's H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, scientists study climate patterns.

by J. Madeleine Nash, Oct 04, 2010
Dancing with Climate Change

In California's White Mountains, scientists ponder the fate of beardtongues, bristlecone pines and butterflies in a rapidly warming world.

by J. Madeleine Nash, Oct 04, 2010
Climate change: Check the data yourself

A collaborative online effort allows both skeptics and believers to study and compare the scientific data regarding climate change.

by Debra Peters and William deBuys, Jul 13, 2010
Pika politics

Biologists disagree over whether the American pika should be listed as endangered, largely due to a warming climate.

by Molly Samuel, Apr 26, 2010
Good night, sweet trees

A scientist sees a Shakespearean tragedy unfold in the West’s dying aspen forests, victims of climate change.

by William R.L. Anderegg, Feb 26, 2010
A nature lover's bucket list

Time is running out to see the natural wonders that are endangered by rampant global warming.

by Tim Lydon, Feb 15, 2010
Bear witness to climate change

To imagine what your corner of the West will be like in a warmer climate, consider how different plants and animals are at a lower elevation.

by Pepper Trail, Feb 04, 2010
Out of the frying pan . . .

If we don’t deal with climate change now, we’ll face horrendous social and economic consequences.

by Auden Schendler and Mark Trexler , Jan 06, 2010
The big bonfire

The economy is stuck in a ditch, but on climate change the U.S. is finally moving in the right direction.

by Randy Udall, Dec 30, 2009