Utah says the White Mesa Mill isn’t contaminating groundwater, but its neighbor, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, disagrees.
Nuclear energy
Posted inArticles
How yellowcake shaped the West
The ghosts of the uranium boom continue to haunt the land, water and people.
Posted inArticles
New Mexico eyed for major nuclear waste storage facility
Critics say virtual meetings bypassed rural communities and raise concerns about the company behind the proposal.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2021: End of the Line
Coal’s big breakdown
A half-century ago, the ‘Big Buildup’ transformed the West; now, it’s all coming to an end.
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
The job loss epidemic
COVID-19 impacts ripple through every sector of the economy.
Posted inArticles
Fallout: First cancer, now delayed compensation for Indigenous downwinder communities
Bureaucratic roadblocks mean ‘apology’ payouts are hard to access for Indigenous communities exposed to nuclear tests.
Posted inArticles
Uranium mining threatens our home, the Grand Canyon
Since time immemorial, the Havasupai have lived inside the natural wonder. We face yet another peril.
Posted inArticles
Tom Udall: It’s past time we confront the climate and nature crises
For our survival, we can look to my father’s vision as an alternative to our current path.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
Nuclear power is clean – if you ignore all the waste
Compare the annual waste produced by a coal-burning power plant and a nuclear generating station.
Posted inArticles
Effort to lock Hanford’s radioactive waste in glass faces more delays
Feds aim to push back the opening of ‘glassification’ plants, while state officials say the Department of Energy has been underfunding the cleanup of America’s most poisoned site.
Posted inArticles
Is renewable energy’s future dammed?
A proposed hydroelectric project on the Little Colorado River shows the tricky trade-offs in transitioning from fossil fuels.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
Feds give Navajo uranium contract to firm with sketchy past
A High Country News investigation finds the EPA awarded Tetra Tech a contract despite knowing its subsidiary had likely engaged in data manipulation, false reporting and profiteering.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
While ‘zombie’ mines idle, cleanup and workers suffer in limbo
Instead of paying to clean up the mess left by mining, companies are warehousing their operations indefinitely.
Posted inArticles
The fallout of uncertainty in nuclear test communities
For downwinders of bomb testing, plans for compensation to redress past harms makes for tricky politics.
Posted inJuly 21, 2019: A Radical Return
Last words from a desert scribe
Essayist Ellen Meloy’s posthumous collection is profound, outspoken and hilarious.
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
A road trip through New Mexico’s atomic past
As nuclear tourism booms in the Land of Enchantment, histories of violence are packaged, sold and consumed.
Posted inMay 27, 2019: Public Pushback
Will the Trump administration boost uranium?
Energy industry lobbying could lead to more mining from Bears Ears to Wyoming.
Posted inArticles
When a huge utility company pledges to go carbon free
Xcel Energy says it wants to ‘step up and do more’ to reduce greenhouse gases.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
Is nuclear energy the key to saving the planet?
A new generation of environmentalists is learning to stop worrying and love atomic power.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
There’s no easy fix for our nuclear past
At Washington’s Hanford nuclear site, failing infrastructure and make-do plans as the West prepares for a new round of radioactivity.