"Geologists and hydrologists can use scientific charts and graphs to understand the increasing water challenges facing South Dakota, but it only takes a brief visit to Bear Butte State Park near Sturgis for a non-scientist to see the outcome of decreasing water levels."
Whether it's pipelines bringing leaks, coastal erosion and storms bringing displacement, or now, increasingly, data centers bringing loss of sovereignty, the central relationship that Indigenous communities have with place is under constant peril. Voices columnist Yessenia Funes urges fellow environmental journalists during Native American Heritage Month to refocus on the rich stories of Indigenous struggles and victories.
"Amid the election-year debates, political advertisements and polls, one simple Iowa yard sign sums ups a core issue seen driving voter sentiment. It reads simply: “Fix the damn water.”"
Solar and wind power are critical for combating climate change, but some energy experts warn they won’t be enough. Their vision for an emissions-free grid depends on technologies ranging from long-duration batteries to nuclear reactors. Journalist Nicolás Rivero on clean firm power’s potential, the challenges ahead and how Big Tech is driving the pursuit of always-on zero-carbon electricity.
“We can’t do laundry or dishes or take showers other than with a little trickle,” said Connie Howie, 76. “Other times we have a little water because it seems to come and go.”
"Monona County officials and residents fear a repeat of the communication gaps and loopholes that left them caught off guard by a plan to import treated slaughterhouse manure."
"In Nebraska, Blackshirt Feeders LP is building the country’s largest feedlot for 200,000 beef cattle on a square-mile slab of concrete."
"The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica show that many yards still have harmful levels of lead."
"With polluted waterways and rising cancer rates, many Iowa voters will be choosing candidates based on their plans to address the problem."
"The owners of the Keystone Pipeline System entered into a settlement Friday with the Environmental Protection Agency and Kansas under which they agreed to pay more than $26 million in damages for a 2022 oil spill."
