Environment
The Tension Between Humans and Nature
An Oregon Bill to Cut Millions in Timber Taxes Is Dead, Despite Backing by the Industry, the Governor and a Top Lawmaker
The legislation aimed to reformulate how Oregon funds the rising costs of fighting wildfires. It sparked debate within the Democratic-controlled Legislature about who should pay: taxpayers or big timber owners, who won steep tax cuts in the 1990s.
“It Feels Impossible to Stay”: The U.S. Needs Wildland Firefighters More Than Ever, but the Federal Government Is Losing Them
Highly skilled firefighters are the last line of defense against wildfires, but that line is fraying because the government decided long ago that they’re not worth very much.
Listen to the “Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars” Podcast
“Salmon Wars,” produced by ProPublica and OPB, tells the story of one Yakama Nation family who has spent generations fighting for salmon. The series uncovers who is to blame for the fish vanishing and why their disappearance affects all of us.
Local Reporting Network
Washington State Is Leaving Tribal Cultural Resources at the Mercy of Solar Developers
The Badger Mountain solar project reveals gaps in the state’s permitting system that tribal nations say perpetuates a legacy of “cultural genocide.”
Local Reporting Network
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Impact of Our Reporting
Chevron Will Pay Record Fines for Oil Spills in California
The penalties come after an investigation by The Desert Sun and ProPublica found that companies were profiting from illegal spills and California’s oversight of the industry was lax.
Local Reporting Network
New EPA Rule to Slash Cancer-Causing Emissions From Sterilization Facilities
The new rule comes after a 2021 investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed the EPA’s yearslong failure to inform communities of the risks they faced from cancer-causing ethylene oxide emissions.
The Oregon Timber Industry Won Huge Tax Cuts in the 1990s. Now It May Get Another Break Thanks to a Top Lawmaker.
As the cost of fighting wildfires increases, state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner has proposed a bill — developed in consultation with the logging industry — that would shift millions in expenses away from the biggest landowners and onto taxpayers.
Series
Series: Waiting for Water : Tribes’ Fight for a Promised Resource
Series: Roots of an Outbreak : How the Next Pandemic Could Start
Series: Disaster After Disaster : Growing Storms, Faltering Aid
Series: Broken Promises : Salmon Disappear From the Pacific Northwest
Series: Sacrifice Zones : Mapping Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution
Series: Black Snow : Big Sugar’s Burning Problem
Series: Sunken Costs : Coal Ash in Georgia
Series: California Burning : The Climate Crisis is Setting the State on Fire
Series: The Great Climate Migration : A Warming Planet and a Shifting Population
Series: Paradise Lost : Hawaii’s Disappearing Beaches
Series: Pollution Profiteers : Inside California’s Toxic Hauling Industry
Series: The Cutting : Investigating Industrial Logging in Oregon
Series: Polluter’s Paradise : Environmental Impact in Louisiana
Series: The New Power Brokers : West Virginia’s Natural Gas Industry
Series: Bombs in Our Backyard : Investigating One of America’s Greatest Polluters
Series: Killing the Colorado : The Water Crisis in the West
Series: Losing Ground : Southeast Louisiana is Disappearing, Quickly
Series: After the Flood : The Challenge of Rebuilding as the Climate Changes
Series: Injection Wells : The Hidden Risks of Pumping Waste Underground
Series: Nuclear Safety : After Fukushima
Series: Gulf Oil Spill : Investigating the Impact of the BP Spill
