Workers are being pushed out of the field by low pay and few affordable housing options.
Wildfire
Posted inArticles
Wildfire smoke pushes migrating birds hundreds of miles out of their way
‘I was glued to my computer for days, trying to figure out what these birds were doing, because it was so clearly, obviously, not normal.’
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
Hmong Americans in Northern California fight wildfire — and distrust
Wary of local authorities, a community forms an ad-hoc firefighting force to defend its property.
Posted inArticles
How arson factors into California’s wildfires
While it may grab headlines, the actual sparks are much more complex.
Posted inNovember 1, 2021: The Radioactive Waste Next Door
The hidden fires
Keeping honest about what we burn and why.
Posted inArticles
Home after fire: A new housing model aims to give kids stability
Wildfires often hit low-income, minority families the hardest. Talent, Oregon, offers a home-grown solution to the displacement that follows.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
Fuel for the electrical fire
Utility equipment sparks blazes, but climate change stokes them.
Posted inOctober 1, 2021: In The Graces of Grasses
What rebuilding from wildfire looks like
A photographer intimately documents how families are recovering one year after the Almeda Fire.
Posted inArticles
Anxiety and hope in wildfire-prone Oregon
How might we live in the reality of our climate?
Posted inArticles
Fire season is getting longer
A new study finds that ‘fire weather’ days have increased, a trajectory expected to continue.
Posted inArticles
The fires that follow us
A hiker copes with a new anxiety brought by a changed climate.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2021: Where Wolves May Tread
The effort to save Upper Klamath Lake’s endangered fish before they disappear
Another dry year pushes tribal nations, federal agencies and irrigators to find long-lasting solutions.
Posted inArticles
For dairy cows, where there’s smoke, there’s less milk
Scientists in Idaho are finding that wildfire smoke dampens milk production and coincides with increased risk of disease and even death in dairy cows.
Posted inArticles
Why does the IPCC report matter?
Researcher Amy Snover explains what the assessment says about climate change in the Northwest and how communities can prepare.
Posted inArticles
Women in wildfire: What are the reproductive health risks?
Females working in a system ‘built for men’ experience a higher rate of miscarriage and other reproductive concerns.
Posted inArticles
Who should pay for climate mitigation? Colorado looks to the oil industry.
Lawsuits across the state accuse the energy companies of deceptive practices that escalated the climate crisis.
Posted inAugust 1, 2021: A Mega-Dairy Comes to the Desert
Climate change is the ultimate neo-noir subject
The novel ‘Something New Under the Sun’ treats a smoke-filled Los Angeles as its own genre.
Posted inArticles
The threat of wildfire in the West arrives alongside tourists
In Mammoth Lakes, California, residents are still anxious from the 2020 fire season.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
The incarcerated women battling wildfires
In ‘Breathing Fire,’ Jaime Lowe uncovers the benefits and drawbacks of California’s inmate fire program.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
How to live with fire
Wildfire needs new narratives. The podcast ‘Fireline’ is a start.