A complicated process, explained.
Infographic
Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge
In a post-Roe West, abortion is on the ballot
Reproductive rights are in the hands of the states — and their voters.
Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge
Races to watch throughout the West
The midterm elections promise to be a referendum on Joe Biden — and Donald Trump.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2022: Going Under
Can ravaged economies be healed with a restoration industry?
Cleaning up the West could be as lucrative as wrecking it.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
The West’s forever fire season
How climate change makes wildfire more likely to happen all year round.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
The hydrogen blues (and greens and grays)
Is this wonder fuel truly green — or just another fossil fuel in disguise?
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
See the Western conservation projects getting Infrastructure Act money this year
Approximately $68 million will be delivered to more than 100 projects across the country — many of which are based in the West.
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 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 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 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
Income inequality proliferates across the West
How history, tax policies and gentrification play into wealth inequity.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
Why reducing methane emissions matters
What you can’t see can hurt.
Posted inArticles
7 statistics that illuminate the housing crisis
Headwaters Economics shines a light on record-breaking costs in the West.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Fuel for the electrical fire
Utility equipment sparks blazes, but climate change stokes them.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread
The incredible shrinking Colorado River
Climate change and rising demand are sucking the life out of the Southwest’s water supply.
Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert
Climate change wreaks havoc on the electricity grid
Heat and drought combined are especially harmful to the power system.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
Crowds swarm the public lands
Land managers and gateway communities struggle to keep up.
Posted inJune 1, 2021: Once and Future Fires
Cannabis has a carbon problem
The burgeoning marijuana industry gobbles up electricity.