The race to dig deeper wells is a losing game for small rural communities.
Drought
Posted inArticles
As the Great Plains disappear, a path to better farming
Since 2009, an area the size of Kansas has been converted to crops.
Posted inJune 26, 2017: Personal Pilgrimage
The Pacific Crest Trail’s shadow hikers
At the border, migrants and long-distance trekkers hike side by side but worlds apart.
Posted inArticles
How collaboration can save the Colorado River
Different interests must align for a successful restoration.
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River is shrinking because of climate change
A long-term drought threatens Western cities’ water supplies.
Posted inJune 12, 2017: The Big Swing
Climate change is shrinking the West’s water supply
Three new studies show dry times ahead.
Posted inArticles
The wine industry’s battle with climate change
Vineyards deal with drought, temperature swings and fruit that ripens too early.
Posted inMay 1, 2017: Change Comes to Short Creek
An end to Tucson’s growth wars
A conservation plan puts science ahead of politics.
Posted inMay 1, 2017: Change Comes to Short Creek
Ten years, 3 million pounds of soil and 1,800 sensors
The numbers behind the world’s largest weathering experiment.
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Without a drought, California takes stock
Infrastructure issues, dry wells and other troubles still linger across the Golden State.
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Winter snows bring spring flows
After a record low two years ago, this season’s substantial Sierra snowpack highlights the variability of winter weather in the West.
Posted inApril 3, 2017: Firestorm
Inside the firestorm
New technology allows scientists to see the forces behind the flames.
Posted inMarch 6, 2017: Uncomfortable Corners
OR show in CO?; runaway drone; an unexpected backcountry plunge
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
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Why keep the Salton Sea?
A history of the manmade — and now essential — inland ocean.
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The land of rain
Storms have drenched California. But they hardly compared to the storms of 1862.
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California’s recent rains won’t fix its other, very big problem
Even in wet years, farmers use too much water — and the Central Valley is sinking.
Posted inDecember 12, 2016: How the Park Service is Failing Women
Latest: California’s tree die-off is bigger than you thought
An additional 36 million trees have died since May.
Posted inNovember 28, 2016: A Weird and Perfect Wilderness
Hope in a post-nature society
A writer seeks answers from Lake Powell.
Posted inArticles
Dreams of dust
How Central Valley communities are coping with prolonged water shortages.
Posted inNovember 14, 2016: The Long View
Science fiction’s warnings for the present
Kim Stanley Robinson on climate change and the precarious health of the planet.