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After Clean Water Act ruling, states that want to protect affected wetlands need millions
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped federal oversight from millions of acres of wetlands long protected under the Clean Water Act. Now, erecting safeguards to ensure those waters are not polluted, drained, or filled in by developers falls to the states. They’re finding that it’s not easy. “States and tribes already didn’t have […]
Tech breakthrough could boost states’ use of geothermal power
Lawmakers in some states have been laying the groundwork to add geothermal power to the electrical grid and pump underground heat into buildings. Now, a technological breakthrough could dramatically expand those ambitions – and perhaps unleash a new wave of policies to tap into geothermal sources. Last month, a company announced the successful demonstration in […]
‘This is the existential crisis’: A push for climate change education
When wildfires and smoke swept through Oregon in 2020, Lyra Johnson’s family made plans to evacuate their home near Portland. Johnson, then 14, was told she might have to quickly learn to drive – despite not having a license – in order to get her grandmother to safety. Thankfully, the danger passed before Johnson was […]
State wildlife agencies focus on ‘hook and bullet’ work. Some see a new path.
SEATTLE — The Cascade red fox, which lives high in the mountains of Washington state, is struggling to survive. State wildlife managers want to send researchers into the field to find out why. They’re also aiming to vaccinate pygmy rabbits against a deadly virus, restore habitat to support the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, and establish new […]