Items by Jonathan Thompson

The Willow project is part of a larger trend: energy colonialism
The Willow project is part of a larger trend: energy colonialism
Five decades ago, the late Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah described America’s ‘power madness.’
The feds crack down on feral cattle
The feds crack down on feral cattle
Yet grazing fees remain puzzlingly low.
Trains in the West then, now — and someday?
Trains in the West then, now — and someday?
Mapping the state of the rails across the region.
Could Arizona’s new governor shift Colorado River politics?
Could Arizona’s new governor shift Colorado River politics?
There’s a historic reckoning in the Colorado River Basin — and Katie Hobbs is here to play hard ball.
The state of the land: Biden’s mixed conservation record
The state of the land: Biden’s mixed conservation record
The president has riled up just about everyone with his public-land policies. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Plans for a new uranium mill in Utah announced
Plans for a new uranium mill in Utah announced
Fierce opposition to the project is likely.
Save public lands: Put solar on Walmart!
Save public lands: Put solar on Walmart!
Parking lots and big-box store roofs could generate oodles of clean power.
Why are so few talking about the power grid amid extreme winter storms?
Why are so few talking about the power grid amid extreme winter storms?
California’s current deluge highlights huge vulnerabilities.
La Niña expected to serve up a hat trick
La Niña expected to serve up a hat trick
The weather pattern hits the West for a third consecutive winter.
How the West’s public lands fared in 2022
How the West’s public lands fared in 2022
It was a bad year for dams and a good one for ‘green’ metals.
Should we worry about 8 billion people?
Should we worry about 8 billion people?
Breaking down population’s role in the environmental impact equation.
Mythbusting in the Mojave
Mythbusting in the Mojave
The vitality in the vast desert.
Carbon capture convolution
Carbon capture convolution
A complicated process, explained.
Western voters favor public lands
Western voters favor public lands
Trumpism and extremism didn’t fly during the 2022 midterms.
On its 100th birthday, the Colorado River Compact shows its age
On its 100th birthday, the Colorado River Compact shows its age
The foundational document was flawed from the start.
Bighorn-lovers butt heads with Vail Resorts’ affordable housing
Bighorn-lovers butt heads with Vail Resorts’ affordable housing
The ski industry giant wants to build workforce housing in wild sheep habitat.
The green metal mining boom is on
The green metal mining boom is on
Now is not the time to loosen mining regulations.
Will the Supreme Court gut the Clean Water Act?
Will the Supreme Court gut the Clean Water Act?
The justices could remove federal protection from 80% of the Southwest’s streams.
Races to watch throughout the West
Races to watch throughout the West
The midterm elections promise to be a referendum on Joe Biden — and Donald Trump.
The Green New Deal didn’t crash California’s grid
The Green New Deal didn’t crash California’s grid
Climate change is wrecking the electricity system.
The divide over Diablo
The divide over Diablo
Greens battle greens over the fate of California’s last nuke plant.
The Colorado River’s alfalfa problem
The Colorado River’s alfalfa problem
Growing less hay is the only way to keep the river’s water system from collapsing
Climate and Congress
Climate and Congress
Historic political action, but is it enough?
Can ravaged economies be healed with a restoration industry?
Can ravaged economies be healed with a restoration industry?
Cleaning up the west could be as lucrative as wrecking it.
The climate bill’s blind spot
The climate bill’s blind spot
A closer look at the good and the bad of specific provisions in the historic climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.
Climate game changer? Or fossil fuel giveaway?
Climate game changer? Or fossil fuel giveaway?
A break down of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The monsoon can’t save us
The monsoon can’t save us
An unusually rainy Southwest summer is welcome — but much more is needed to end the water crisis.
The West’s forever fire season
The West’s forever fire season
How climate change makes wildfire more likely to happen all year round.
The rise of the restoration economy
The rise of the restoration economy
Filling the economic void left by the extraction economy by healing the land.
The funky politics of wildfire right now
The funky politics of wildfire right now
After New Mexico’s record-breaking fires, the politics of wildfire are morphing into weird configurations.
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