China recently banned exports of certain rare earth minerals to the U.S. as part of an ongoing tech war between the two superpowers. With the largest supplier of those minerals out, some experts weigh in on what this means for the growing industry in the Rocky Mountains.

The Karuk of Northern California are one of many Native peoples with a long tradition of burning their ancestral lands. These practices are key inspiration for an annual prescribed fire training that’s been going on for more than a decade.

Digitizing the bee collections at museums could answer important questions like whether certain species are still buzzing in the same places they once were, or if their bodies have changed over time in response to stressors like climate change.

“What played out in L.A. could easily occur in other communities, other cities across the West and even outside the West,” said Kimiko Barrett, the senior wildfire researcher at Montana-based Headwaters Economics.

Among the flurry of executive orders from President Donald Trump this week was one targeting a massive wind energy project in Idaho. Some officials and activists are applauding the move.

Medical resources are stretched in southern California amid the ongoing wildfires. Nurses from a large hospital system in our region are headed out to help alleviate the crunch.

More than 30 states have Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plans, which are state-run programs backed by private insurers that offer coverage for high-risk properties.

In the Western U.S., extreme wildfires are damaging tribal lands. Climate change has only made the situation more dire. That’s why the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is working to reintroduce intentional, cultural fire. These are once-banned burning practices they use to restore the health of their forests and plants.

Many people hesitate to get electric cars because of concerns over being able to charge them, and many people don’t have the means to have home chargers. Federal funding aims to put chargers in places that are more accessible to lower-income and underserved communities.

Support from 34 states is needed to hold a convention around limiting federal powers. Nineteen have already signed on, with six more up in the air.