Is the region ready to produce the world’s most advanced technology?
Technology
Posted inArticles
Data centers could set back climate progress
AI, cryptocurrency “mining” and our digital lifestyles imperil the energy transition — and the planet.
Posted inJune 2024: The Idea of Wilderness
What if the future is the past?
Degrowth offers a path for dealing with our serious environmental issues.
Posted inJanuary 11, 2024: The Creatures in Our Midst
How solar geoengineering is clouding issues of tribal consent
‘Move fast, break things’ approach runs into issues of tribal authority.
Posted inNovember 1, 2023: November 1, 2023
California’s Central Valley chinook are getting lost on their way home
The culprit is a tactic designed to save them – one that could decrease the species’ resilience in the long run.
Posted inArticles
Federal program helps address the digital divide, for now
Colorado is looking to launch a statewide internet subsidy program as funding for the the Affordable Connectivity Program is only guaranteed until mid-2024.
Posted inArticles
Bringing fast, reliable broadband to rural Alaska could cost $1.8 billion
During a visit to Bethel, Alaska, first lady Jill Biden highlighted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to improve internet access in Alaska Native communities.
Posted inMay 1, 2023: Reemergence
Good drones, coyote living and a cow-chip lottery
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inApril 1, 2023: The Path Forward
Navigating the new health-care deserts
Post-Roe, startups help those seeking abortions shrink travel distances and carbon emissions.
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.