& 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.
A new approach in the fight against big oil; advances in abandoned mine reclamation; wind farms on sacred land; roadblocks for the reforestation industry; and the secret lives of sperm whales, corals, and soils.
California sues Exxon Mobil over false claims of plastic recyclability. The state of California has launched a lawsuit against energy giant Exxon Mobil, accusing the company of misleading consumers, exacerbating the climate crisis while convincing the public that their single-use plastics would be recycled. A lawsuit of this nature is uncommon, and has the potential to set a new legal precedent for environmental law going forward. NEW YORK TIMES
Utah is legally obligated to protect the Great Salt Lake, argues a coalition that includes Earthjustice, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, the American Bird Conservancy, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and the Utah Rivers Council. They are making their case in court, using the public trust doctrine to argue that the state is obligated to preserve the natural resource for public use. They hope that the state will reduce the diversion of freshwater streams that feed the lake, returning the lake to at least 4,198 feet above sea level. SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Oregon tribes oppose floating wind farms. While the Biden administration and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality plan for offshore wind farms to help them achieve renewable energy goals, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians have opposed recent plans for development off the coast. They argue that the proposed location of the turbines would despoil an area that has cultural, historical, economic, and marine importance. Oregon Capital Chronicle
Need for reforestation outpaces current planting capacity. As forest fires increase in intensity and frequency, forest managers have realized that some forests may never regrow on their own. Replanting is necessary to retain these forests, but issues arise in the ability to efficiently prepare planting sites and to source seedlings. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Good samaritans may soon be free to clean up Colorado’s abandoned mines. Though Colorado is home to at least 500 abandoned mines whose toxic runoff is measurably harming the land and water, current laws inhibit organizations from cleaning up these sites because doing so means assuming total responsibility for the costly damage from those sites. Congress, however, is currently considering a bill that will allow nonprofits and other groups to clean up some or most of an abandoned mine without becoming legally responsible for the site as a whole. DENVER POST
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
