In this special issue, High Country News reminds Westerners that it’s not too late to create a better climate future. One feature story takes a deep dive into the Tijuana Estuary on the California-Mexico border, showing that restoration is an ongoing process that can succeed when human beings devote themselves to it, for a lifetime if necessary. Indigenous leaders bring their knowledge to the climate change discussion, and the Smokehouse Collective works to rebuild Native food networks across Alaska. An 80-year-old electric co-op commits to decarbonization, and there are steps we can take to decarbonize the grid. California’s former insurance commissioner believes insurance companies and homeowners can take a more proactive approach to dealing with risk, and a diehard proponent of cooking with gas finally changes her mind. Environmental activists and labor unions achieve solidarity, and overlooked genres of literature, including Chinese tales about kung-fu heroes, can help grow a reader’s climate consciousness.
Natural Histrionics
A poem by Adam O. Davis.
I married a cookstove scientist
My reluctant journey to ditching our gas stove.
Homeowner’s insurance is going up in smoke
A Q&A with California’s former insurance commissioner about coverage in the age of climate change.
12 not-so-easy steps to decarbonize the grid
Electrifying will make a difference if that power comes from clean sources.
Defending the Tijuana Estuary
Stewardship saved a Southern California estuary from development. Climate change is the next challenge.
Labor unions and environmentalists are working together on the energy transition
In 2023, groups found solidarity on the climate, but work lies ahead.
Climate Vigil aims to channel prayer into action
Christians in eastern Oregon fight for a safe climate as a human — and moral — right.
Community and collective action across the West
Tell us how you’re working for a better future amid the climate crisis.
Fighting for an abundant future
There’s still time to make a difference.
The New Mexico co-op breaking up with fossil fuels
An 80-year-old electricity supplier goes all in on decarbonization.
How kung-fu heroes can grow our climate consciousness
‘It’s an intentional alignment with a certain kind of underground resistance.’
An Alaska Native mutual aid network tackles the climate crisis
The Smokehouse Collective invests in “our resilience as Native peoples to persevere in our cultures despite the global impacts we are facing.”
Big-eared bats, badass boulders and very determined hikers
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
‘We recognize the sentience in other things’
#iamthewest: Giving voice to the people that make up communities in the region.
How 3 Indigenous women are leading the way on climate change
These experts bring knowledge and justice to the climate conversation.