& the West
Published since 2016, ‘& the West’ offers reporting, research, interviews, and analysis on the environmental future of California and western North America. It is produced by the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. More about us »
Along the Pacific coast, the U.S.’ fledgling seaweed industry seeks profit in biofuels, greener cattle forage and, just maybe, a place at the American dinner table.
What we’re reading elsewhere.
Dengue fever outbreaks in Los Angeles, the environmental and emotional impacts of bitcoin mining, blowouts from orphaned wells, how Mexico City avoided running out of water, native climbers plan ascent of the mountain they call Mount Tahoma, and more environmental news from around the West.
The Biden administration approves a massive Pacific Ocean marine sanctuary. The 4,543-acre Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary on the central California coast includes a large tract of water but carves out space for possible development of ocean wind farms. E&E NEWS
Four cases of Dengue fever arise in Los Angeles County, all in patients without a history of travel to high-risk areas. The mosquitos that carry Dengue, aedes mosquitoes, are invasive in southern California, but are increasingly common as temperatures rise. USC ANNENBERG MEDIA
Residents of Granbury, Texas are fighting Bitcoin mining with a noise pollution lawsuit. They live near Marathon Digital facility, where computers spend all day generating codes in order to unlock and sell bitcoins on the cryptocurrency market– each of which are currently worth $62,500. These mines require electricity – fueled by natural gas in this case – and a way to keep cool in the Texas heat. The lawsuit attacks the fans used to cool the 20,000 computers, whose noise, they claim, has caused vertigo, hearing loss, migraines, fatigue, anxiety, and tinnitus. INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS
Muckleshoot tribal member Rachel Heaton plans to lead a team of all-native climbers to the top of Tahoma, the mountain dubbed Mount Rainier in 1872. No one on the team has mountaineering experience, yet they are determined to bring native visibility into the history of Tahoma summits. REI Co-Op/ UNCOMMON PATH
We know how dams block the movement of fish, but what about the movement of sediments? Globally, 18 cubic miles of sediments are trapped behind dams, reducing the storage capacity of these dams while altering riverbed ecosystems downstream. The imbalance of sediments will affect the Klamath River, the San Francisco Bay, the Amazon River Delta, and the Nile River Delta, among others. ENSIA
How close Mexico City came to running out of water this year, and the lucky rain and water reserves that saved it. BLOOMBERG
Oregon county adds a major gas provider to its $51.5 billion lawsuit against fossil fuel firms for allegedly sowing climate doubt and for their role in the region’s deadly 2021 heat wave. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Disappearing snowpack in the West. Is the end of western mountain snowpacks in sight? San Francisco Chronicle Washington Post
Disappearing water in the West. Does groundwater have a future in California, or is its depletion inevitable? Stanford Earth Matters
Disappearing water, Part II. Water agencies serving 27 million Californians are on their own next year, getting nothing from state water projects. Los Angeles Times
Disappearing water, Part III. Small farmers in the Central Valley wonder: where is Kings County water going? SJV Water
Oregon’s proposed Jordan Cove liquified natural gas project abandoned. It was designed to include a liquified natural gas terminal and a 229-mile natural gas pipeline and send liquified natural gas to Asian markets. Oregon Public Broadcasting
Interior Secretary Haaland works to eliminate racist place names, like those using the word “squaw.” How names like “Chinaman Gulch” affected one Asian American. Grist KSUT
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Associate editor
Geoff McGhee specializes in interactive data visualization and multimedia storytelling. He is a veteran of the multimedia and infographics staffs at The New York Times, Le Monde and ABCNews.com. MORE »
Editorial Assistant
Xavier graduated from Stanford in 2023 with a degree in economics and is currently a master’s student in Stanford’s journalism program. He has written about the high phone call costs faced by U.S. inmates, temporary Mexican workers’ interactions with the labor market and the efficacy of government healthcare assistance programs. A lifelong lover of charts and maps, he enjoys combining data journalism with narrative-style reporting.
‘& the West’ is published by the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University, which is dedicated to research, teaching, and journalism about the past, present, and future of the North American West.
Faculty Director
Associate Director
