Climate Change and the West
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Floods, fire ... are locusts next?
First floods, then fire -- natural disasters pound a small Montana community.
by Wendy Beye, Jul 20, 2012 -
Will Utah's tar sands make it the Alberta of the high desert?
Calgary-based U.S. Oil Sands says it's ready to take its exploratory effort in eastern Utah’s Tavaputs Plateau commercial.
by Jeremy Miller, Jul 31, 2012 -
Notes from a wildfire refugee
When wildfire forces locals to flee their beloved Colorado homes, people begin to talk more openly than they used to about climate change.
by John Calderazzo, Jun 27, 2012 -
Sometimes environmentalists miss the boat
Colorado environmentalists goofed when they opposed a bill that would have harnessed the methane produced by coal mines as a form of renewable energy.
by Allen Best, Jun 27, 2012 -
Bark beetle kill leads to more severe fires, right? Well, maybe
The connection between bark beetle outbreaks and Western forest fires is more complicated than it might appear.
by Gail Wells, May 13, 2012 -
Redefining "renewable" to get a clean energy bill through Congress
As his retirement looms, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., pushes a "clean energy" bill, one that broadens the energy mix beyond traditional "renewable" sources.
by Judith Lewis Mernit, Apr 15, 2012 -
Two degrees warmer and rising: A review of A Great Aridness
Books about climate change tend to be grim reading, but William deBuys' love for the American Southwest makes his new nonfiction book A Great Aridness beautiful as well as disturbing.
by Laura Paskus, Mar 04, 2012 -
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 12, 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 05, 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 06, 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 06, 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 05, 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
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