The region’s history with prosperity in the oil and gas industry looms over conversations about how to diversify its economy.
Pollution
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
A chronic polluter closes its doors. What’s next?
The owner of a wood treatment plant is trying to walk away from its mess in West Eugene, Oregon. Neighbors say, not so fast.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
A community poisoned by oil
People living in Wilmington, California, experience higher levels of illness and ailing mental health.
Posted inArticles
Worrying about the dust next door in this Montana mining town
Residents of a Butte neighborhood are concerned about what’s wafting from a nearby open-pit mine that can coat their homes and vehicles.
Posted inArticles
New study finds DDT in California condors
Chemicals dumped in the 1970s are still seeping into the food chain. But the Yurok Tribe is confident their birds will be OK.
Posted inArticles
Two Southwest tribes raise concerns over uranium storage
Tribal communities in Arizona and Utah face environmental problems connected to the same radioactive resource: uranium.
Posted inArticles
Following 14,000-gallon fuel spill, Pacific representatives call for U.N. investigation
Indigenous youth caucus calls for demilitarization of Hawai‘i.
Posted inArticles
Air quality report card flunks the West
Western states dominate lists of where short-term particulate and ozone pollution are the worst.
Posted inArticles
Revolution, Coast Salish Style now!
Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe on accepting failure as a path to creative healing in her debut memoir, ‘Red Paint.’
Posted inArticles
Cleanup of abandoned uranium mines creates a demand for workers
A growing industry for environmental remediation needs a local workforce with the right training.
Posted inArticles
Report: Over half of U.S. waters are too polluted to swim or fish
At 50 years, the Clean water Act has had success. But there are key sources of water pollution yet to be addressed.
Posted inArticles
The far-reaching consequences of woodsmoke pollution
Wood burning stoves raise public health and environmental justice concerns.
Posted inArticles
Dangerous levels of lead found in Montana schools
High lead levels were identified in the water of over 100 of the state’s nearly 600 schools, and only half have provided samples.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
How a Tacoma gas facility started a fight over climate change, sovereignty and human rights
A Washington methane gas project is compounding a crisis of tribal consultation, pension funds and national immigration practices.
Posted inMarch 1, 2022: The Cloning Conundrum
Portland community leaders bring the heat to building standards
An activist collective says making buildings carbon-free is just the start.
Posted inArticles
Will the EPA partially close a Wyoming coal plant that’s one of the nation’s largest polluters?
The decision affects the local economy and air quality — and could create an opening for renewable energy.
Posted inArticles
Wildfires’ unequal impacts on pregnant people
An interview with one researcher studying the effect of wildfire on pregnancy outcomes in the West.
Posted inArticles
A history of pollution pervades a California neighborhood
As new soil tests reveal remaining lead contamination, the people in the Logan barrio continue their long struggle for justice.
Posted inArticles
Interior devotes billions to plugging old oil wells. Is it enough?
The agency under-counted abandoned wells by more than half, which means the effort covers only a fraction of the cost.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
EPA prohibits White Mesa Mill from receiving Superfund waste
Energy Fuels Resources was found in violation for improper handling of radioactive waste storage.