Post-Roe, startups help those seeking abortions shrink travel distances and carbon emissions.
Technology
Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation
What can conservation learn from science fiction?
New works by Western authors explore the brighter futures of our swiftly tilting planet.
Posted inArticles
Idaho cobalt mine is a harbinger of what’s to come
A new venture near Salmon signals an uptick in hardrock mining across the West.
Posted inOctober 1, 2022: Making Refuge
Not-murder hornets, sentient chatbots and an AirBearNBear
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
The Green New Deal didn’t crash California’s grid
Climate change is wrecking the electricity system.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
The revenge of Big Tech
When tech companies rule the world, what could go wrong?
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Park Service’s midnight-hour rule change benefits Telecom
The eliminated policy was designed to keep the public in the loop about new cell towers.
Posted inArticles
Why rural communities struggle to bring in much-needed federal grants
A new analysis suggests that over half of communities in the West lack the capacity to take advantage of infrastructure bill funding. Now what?
Posted inArticles
How the economy of Indian Country impacts local communities
A ‘stealth’ economy for tribes often hides billions of dollars in jobs, growth and revenue.
Posted inApril 1, 2022: The Archives Issue
When lockdown happened, historians took to the internet
The COVID-19 Digital Archive documents life during a global pandemic.
Posted inArticles
A mysterious solar farm crops up in Colorado
Are the solar panels, spread over 74 acres on the Western Slope, intended to power a crypto mine? No one’s saying.
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 inFebruary 1, 2022: Essential
Meet the influencer of the California condor world
During the pandemic, a chick named Iniko became an ambassador for conservation from her redwood nest.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2022: Water Rights and Responsibilities
Indian Country deserves better than Facebook
Social media has helped undo centuries of colonial disconnection, but Native communities need a much better platform.
Posted inArticles
How to solve the rural-urban digital divide
The author of ‘Farm Fresh Broadband’ draws on history to chart a better future for rural internet access.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
The hidden fires
Keeping honest about what we burn and why.
Posted inArticles
Solving the West’s housing crisis
We need to care for the priced-out average worker or something is bound to break.
Posted inArticles
Mapping migrant deaths in the desert
GIS technology gives insight into why some undocumented immigrants perish in the Borderlands.
Posted inArticles
Study looks at covering California’s canals with solar panels
Covering waterways would save water and provide electricity, among other benefits.