State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.
Natural Gas
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Trump’s nominee for leading Interior attempted to rip up rules governing public lands
North Dakota sued the Interior Department at least five times under Gov. Doug Burgum. Now he’s set to run the agency.
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Outgoing Bureau of Land Management director optimistic about public lands
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses the BLM’s achievements and talks about the future as we enter a new political era.
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Jimmy Carter’s mixed environmental record
The former president emphasized conservation, protection — and coal mining.
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Beautiful Bears Ears is at risk, again
What are the consequences for the land if the incoming president shrinks the national monument?
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Resource production or preservation? Election puts Alaska lands on the line
From oil in the Arctic to the Ambler Road, Alaska’s resource and conservation battles await a new administration’s fate, affecting communities, ecosystems and industries alike.
Posted inNovember 2024: The Once and Future Prairie
How the climate is changing your energy bill
Wildfires and winter storms are costing utilities and families.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
What Project 2025 has to say about Native communities
The initiative focuses heavily on resource extraction of tribal lands but lacks detail on other key issues.
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The future of renewables in Arizona hinges on voters
The Arizona Corporation Commission has come under scrutiny for its continued support of fossil fuels and resistance to supporting more solar in the state. Three seats could make the difference.
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The mother-daughter duo fighting fossil fuels in Colorado
How Madhvi and Lalitha Chittoor teamed up against a proposed oil and gas development.
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Kamala Harris tries to navigate the convoluted politics of oil and gas
Drill, Democrats, drill?
Posted inSeptember 2024: When Migrants Go Missing
Preventing the next ‘Fukushima’
As oil and gas operations at Portland’s CEI Hub grow, so do the chances of a catastrophic spill.
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Polluted air threatens the health of New Mexico infants
A new study finds a link between air pollution and low birth weight.
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Colorado’s oil and gas rules put taxpayers at risk, according to study
The report contradicts claims that the new rules are the ‘most robust in the country.’
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Trump vs. Biden on the climate
The next presidential election will have huge ramifications for the planet.
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Is Biden a public-lands protector?
The administration makes the biggest land-management moves in a half century.
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Drilling for oil on public land is about to cost a lot more
Long-awaited Interior Department policy will raise financial assurance and royalty rates.
Posted inApril 2024: Epic Journeys
What’s going on with natural gas exports?
The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of LNG, but President Biden just paused new permits.
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The good, the bad and the ugly of the state legislative season
While Congress does nothing, Western state lawmakers pass a flurry of consequential and/or crazy — bills.
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Oil industry profits don’t pay for cleanup
A failure of regulation has allowed industry to avoid the true cost of cleaning up its unplugged wells.