Widely distributed but hard to disentangle, exotic elements are vital to green energy and military applications. For decades, China has dominated the dirty business of mining and processing rare earth ores. Two Mojave desert mines, one operating and one planned, may change that picture.Continue readingRare earths mining takes a heavy toll. Is it worth moving mountains for a domestic supply?
In its early 20th century heyday, Allensworth, California was celebrated as a model of Black self-sufficiency; then came loss and a long decline. A new generation is bringing new ideas, new money, and ambitions for a model economic and environmental rural community. Continue readingA Central Valley family’s quest to revive a historic Black town is the work of generations
“The West’s Lyme disease” gets less attention as cases rise – even while drastically undercounted. Climate change and land development are worsening the picture.Continue readingBuried in the soil or drifting on the wind, Valley fever fungus spreads further around the Southwest
Hemmed in by aging infrastructure, water scarcity and ratepayer resistance, utility managers seek to balance maintaining equitable service and remaining solvent.Continue readingSanta Cruz water utility grapples with a paradox: what to do when conservation becomes bad for business
Indigenous leaders face a choice: develop renewable electricity for grid reliability and energy independence, or sell power off-site for economic benefit.Continue readingFor Tribal governments, can energy sovereignty and economic self-sufficiency go hand-in-hand?
Backers say Small Modular Reactors promise safe, cheap, carbon-free energy. But as is common in nuclear power, the reality is more complicated. The small city of Kemmerer, Wyoming, is set to house the first U.S. commercial-scale SMR demonstration.Continue readingAtomic energy, out of a box? In the rural West, an experimental reactor technology inches closer to reality.
Professor Luthy’s work focuses on ways to ensure that water overflows in both urban and rural California can be captured and stored underground. He spoke with & the West about the measures the state needs to consider to protect its water supplies into an uncertain future. Continue reading‘We need to plan for a more water-resilient future:’ Q&A with Richard G. Luthy, urban water expert
With promises of jobs and hopes for tax breaks, server farms are reshaping local grids, plumbing, and politics. Are they a boon for communities, or a burden?Continue readingThirsty for power and water, AI-crunching data centers sprout across the West
Long since fish canneries built Southeast Alaska’s signature town, the trade is now being used to attract tourists.Continue readingKetchikan calls itself ’Salmon Capital of the World.’ Does the title still fit?
Architects of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act tried to forestall conflict between state regulators and local groundwater users. But judging plans “inadequate” creates hard-to-reconcile differences.Continue readingEfforts to preserve California’s groundwater enter a new phase: a season of judgement