Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

"A government assessment recently obtained by an environmental group appears to link a well the group says is used in U.S.-Mexico border wall construction to low water levels in wildlife habitats at an Arizona refuge with endangered species."

"For years, money for flood protection in the Houston area went mostly to richer neighborhoods. A new approach prioritizes minority communities, and it’s stirring up resentments."

"Texas beaches may be open during the pandemic, but that doesn't mean they're safe places to swim, according to a new study of levels of fecal bacteria along the Gulf Coast."

"New Mexico this week proposed rules that would require its oil and gas industry to capture at least 98% of its emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane by 2026, a standard it said would be among the strongest in the nation."

"On a warming planet, heat hurts communities of color more. But Phoenix is finding ways to cool down."

"Dust storms—those billowing walls of sand and dirt often seen seen in the more arid regions of the world—doubled in the American Southwest between the 1990s to 2000s." "Respiratory ICU admissions spike in the wake of such storms, which are becoming more common across the American Southwest."

"Extreme weather has contributed to the vast blazes – with the pandemic complicating the emergency response."

"Red flag fire warnings are in effect for large portions of the West on Sunday and Monday, the National Weather Service said."

"A vast sea of wind turbines is in the works for hundreds of thousands of acres near Corona and surrounding Lincoln, Guadalupe and Torrance counties that could more than double the wind power generation in New Mexico and provide enough electricity for every home in the state."