Items by Jonathan Thompson

The American West and the Energiewende: Part II
We can have a renewables revolution that's even more robust than Germany's.
The summer of our discontent
How long will it be before tourists simply avoid the West during fire season?
Tribes battle austerity with energy development
As the West burns, Native American leaders convene to plan their energy future.
It’s too soon to end Arizona’s solar incentives
It’s too soon to end Arizona’s solar incentives
Net metering is under attack in one of the nation's sunniest states
Wildfire's silver lining
Wildfire's silver lining
Even the costliest blazes can boost local economies.
The affordable housing quandary
The affordable housing quandary
In many Western communities, the more careful you are with land-use planning and wildlife conservation, the less you're doing for worker housing.
Our favorite wildfire and weather apps
Keep abreast of the burning planet with these iPhone applications!
The power grid may determine whether we can kick our carbon habit
The power grid may determine whether we can kick our carbon habit
How the huge and fragile network of wires intertwined into our very existence may determine whether we can kick our carbon habit.
A swim through housing data
Home prices are rebounding, even in the most troubled markets, but what does it mean?
Going off grid is easy!
But you'll probably never do it, and here's why.
Rooftop solar is killing your utility!
But don't write a eulogy yet
Drones are not just for killing
An excuse to watch some cool videos, filmed from unmanned aircraft.
Arizona's impending solar war
Battle lines are drawn as AZ's biggest utility threatens to axe net metering
Climate change, not terrorists, is the real threat to the power grid
A substation sabotage in San Jose stirs up the conspiracy theorists
The river and the drought
A rafting trip with low water and dust storms on the San Juan River drives the dryness home
Is coal making a comeback?
A "symbiotic relationship" between natural gas and renewables has yet to make as much headway as hoped.
Help the economy: Start a fire.
Expensive mega-fires have some economic upsides for local communities.
An upside to the gun-buying frenzy
As gun sales have soared, so has wildlife restoration funding.
Uranium ban rethink?
What if a ban on extraction could be used as a bargaining chip to benefit the community?
Energy imbalance WTF?!
A little-noticed deal could be a big deal for renewable energy in the West
Ski industry supports cloud seeding but downplays climate change
Ski industry supports cloud seeding but downplays climate change
Getting skiers on the slopes is less about actual snow and more about getting skiers to believe there is snow.
Coal's gasping on the Colorado Plateau
Do agreements to shut down units at two of the West's biggest plants signal the end of the dirty fuel?
The sad tale of Shiprock South
A failed development in northwestern New Mexico highlights the severe need for housing on the Navajo Nation
China v. Utah: Whose air is worse?
China v. Utah: Whose air is worse?
It’s hard to tell Beijing from Salt Lake when pollution clouds the air.
Where the wealth is
The Census Bureau maps the Five Percent and reveals some disturbing trends.
In a rural Colorado valley, old-fashioned print news lives on
In a rural Colorado valley, old-fashioned print news lives on
The Saguache Crescent prints on an ancient letterpress machine, no computers necessary.
Can the West have its own Energiewende?
Los Angeles adopts a German-like feed-in-tariff to encourage rooftop solar
Which way will the West go on guns?
Which way will the West go on guns?
Pro-gun Western Democrats are in the spotlight as the nation debates non-traditional firearms.
A twittering elk in Boulder
And more oddities from Heard around the West
High Country News Classifieds
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    Staff Attorney The role of the Staff Attorney is to bring litigation on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, and at times our allies, in the...
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    Whitman College seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in Indigenous Histories of the North American West, beginning August 2024, at the rank of Assistant Professor....
  • DAVE AND ME
    Dave and Me, by international racontuer and children's books author Rusty Austin, is a funny, profane and intense collection of short stories, essays, and poems...
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    Rural Community Assistance Corporation is looking to hire a CFO. For more more information visit: https://www.rcac.org/careers/
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  • CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE
    Field seminars for adults in natural and human history of the northern Colorado Plateau, with lodge and base camp options. Small groups, guest experts.
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    Popular vacation house, everything furnished. Two bedroom, one bath, large enclosed yards. Dog-friendly. Contact Lee at [email protected] or 520-791-9246.
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    We characterize contaminated sites, identify buried drums, tanks, debris and also locate groundwater.
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    A must for campers and outdoor enthusiasts. Cools, cleans and hydrates with mist, stream and shower patterns. Hundreds of uses.
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    Native plant seeds for the Western US. Trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers and regional mixes. Call or email for free price list. 719-942-3935. [email protected] or visit...