Distress signals

As climate change fuels the spread of wildfires across the West, researchers want to know how scorched trees, which no longer provide much shade and also shed flecks of carbon that intensify the absorption of sunlight, might disrupt water supplies. Communities often rely on melting snow in the spring to replenish reservoirs during dryer months. If snow melts earlier than normal, that would likely leave less water flowing in the summer when it’s most needed.

The Biden administration says it’s set to approve dozens of commercial-scale solar, wind and geothermal power projects capable of producing enough electricity to power millions of homes by the end of 2025. The Interior Department forecasts that it’s on track to approve 48 wind, solar and geothermal energy projects with the capacity to produce an estimated 31,827 megawatts of electricity—enough to power roughly 9.5 million homes—by the end of the fiscal 2025 budget cycle. The vast majority of that clean power—29,595 MW—will be produced by solar projects. The report estimates that the BLM will approve projects capable of producing 11,409 MW of electricity by the end of 2023. That amount alone would nearly double the 12,000 MW of electricity from the 35 solar, 36 wind and 48 geothermal power projects that have already been approved on federal lands to date.

The White Mesa Mill produces refined uranium, vanadium and rare earth compounds used for nuclear fuels, the creation of steel, batteries and electric cars. Residents are concerned those toxic leftovers are contaminating the environment and hurting their health.

The Rocky Boy Buffalo Project announced on Monday the arrival of the first bison calf to be born on the reservation in “over two decades.” Jason Belcourt, the tribe’s sustainability coordinator, said he was “extremely proud” of the teams of people that made the birth possible. “I hope this baby buffalo brings all the good things we asked for … health, life, spirituality and all the good things this animal offers us,” Belcourt said. “With this birth, we are witnessing the rebirth of a nation. Great stuff.”

Poor hydrology isn’t the only thing on the water managers’ minds: They’re also contending with the yawning cultural and political chasm between the region’s urban and rural interests as well as questions about who should suffer the most aggressive cuts and how to better engage Indigenous communities that have historically been cut out of the dealmaking. All of that makes the Southwest’s deliberations over the Colorado River a window into how climate change is putting pressure on divisions embedded throughout American society.