The region’s history with prosperity in the oil and gas industry looms over conversations about how to diversify its economy.
Jonathan Thompson
Jonathan Thompson is a contributing editor at High Country News. He is the author of Sagebrush Empire: How a Remote Utah County Became the Battlefront of American Public Lands. Follow him @LandDesk
Posted inArticles
Will carbon capture help clean New Mexico’s power, or delay its transition?
A virtually unknown company has a $1.4 billion plan to extend the life of the state’s largest coal-fired power plant. Critics say it’s likely to be a costly distraction from a just transition.
Posted inArticles
New Mexico’s landmark coal transition law faces an uncertain timeline
Despite momentum in 2017, drought and supply chain problems are complicating the shift from fossil fuels.
Posted inArticles
In the wake of fires and floods
Climate disasters across the West wreak havoc on economies and livelihoods.
Posted inArticles
The shift to green energy, obstructed
A whole host of factors has thrown the transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable forms of energy off track.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Wildlife in the West: The good, the bad, the in-between
Conservation and wildlife corridors can help, but is it enough?
Posted inArticles
Unprecedented fire, wind and snowmelt in the Southwest
This may not be the driest winter, the worst fire season or even the warmest spring on record, but taken together the conditions truly are superlative.
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What the Ukraine war means for Western lands
War hawks and climate hawks alike are calling for energy independence.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Russia’s war reverberates in the West
Putin’s military moves — and the globe’s response to them — have unexpected consequences for the region.
Posted inArticles
Biden’s broken promise on climate?
The administration resumes oil and gas leasing — and fixes a dysfunctional system in the process.
Posted inJune 1, 2022: A Legacy of Weapons and War
Powell’s looming power problem
Drought and demand threaten a critical component of the Western grid.
Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue
How the Earth stores records of the past
When human data doesn’t go back far enough, researchers turn to natural archives.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
The digital world’s real-world impact on the environment
From data center warehouses to cryptocurrency, technology is another energy hog.
Posted inArticles
The Supreme Court is set to weigh in on the Clean Water Act’s reach
The high court is taking up an Idaho case that could obliterate federal protection for much of the West’s waters.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Electric vehicles drive up demand for ‘green metals’
The need for energy-transition metals breathes life into new mines in the West.
Posted inArticles
Biden’s ‘herky-jerky’ first year on Western issues
The new president sacrificed bold executive action to try to win over Congress.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
2021’s climate was one of contrasts, contradictions and extremes
There was one constant: Heat.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Paul Larmer’s 40-year ride with HCN
The one-time intern turned publisher, and now senior development officer, retires to a mic and his camera.
Posted inDecember 1, 2021: Visions of Wildness
Income inequality proliferates across the West
How history, tax policies and gentrification play into wealth inequity.
Posted inArticles
The Westiest programs in Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The act is the New Deal redux, with a splash of ecosystem restoration.