Online Articles

Horseshoe Bend on a sunny day.

Drought in the American West and Equitable Water Use

April 10, 2023 by Benjamin Wilken State and Local Water

The American West is dry. Despite extreme weather events like the series of atmospheric rivers that doused the West Coast (from late 2022 until the time of this piece’s composition), capable of dumping up to half an inch of rain an hour,[1] the overall…

Conservation easement boundary sign with hills and a lake in the background

No Time to Ease Up on Easements

March 30, 2023 by Chris Gaarder Public Lands State and Local Wildlife

The Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to claim an income tax deduction for donating perpetual conservation easements to qualified organizations.[1] The federal government has foregone billions of dollars of tax revenue in exchange for such easements…

The Colonial Pipeline transports refined oil products to the East Coast.

Cybersecurity Policy Responses to the Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack

March 7, 2023 by Kimberly Wood Energy Fossil Fuels

Long lines for gas and skyrocketing retail gas prices marked May 2021 as a memorable month for automobile owners. While gasoline shortages in the early 1970s were caused by an international oil embargo, this more recent supply shortfall resulted from…

Rubble from collapsed and heavily damaged buildings in the foreground with snowcapped mountains visible in the background.

The Environmental Impact and Aftermath of the Turkey-Syria Earthquakes

February 27, 2023 by Eli Rivas International

On February 6, 2023, a colossal 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed shortly after by a 7.6 magnitude aftershock struck Turkey, its epicenter closest to the city of Kahramanmaras. Over 50,000 people have died in large part due to building collapses, with…

A skiier hitting the slopes in the American Rockies after a large snowfall.

Take Me to the River. . . Let’s Conserve the Water

February 13, 2023 by Allie Williams Climate change State and Local Water

Unprecedented, warmer, wetter winter seasons have ski communities across the Alps fearful of how rising temperatures and the looming reality of climate change might impact the winter sports industry in the years to come.[1]  By contrast, in the Western…

Picture depicting a series of airplanes, one behind the other, on a tarmac with grass on either side. An additional single aircraft, one tarmac over on the right, is also visible

The Environmental Injustice in Aviation Emissions

February 6, 2023 by Paige Kendrick Air Energy Fossil Fuels

The last few years, especially these last few months, have seen aviation emission regulation like never before. At home and abroad, the aviation industry appears to be making significant inroads relating to emissions from engines “typically used in…

Man fishing at dawn

Congress Puts Unregulated Fishing on the Hook

February 1, 2023 by Alyssa Greenstein Oceans Regulations Sustainability Wildlife

U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), respectively the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Armed Service Committee, and U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and Mike Rogers (R-AL), their counterparts on the House Armed Services…