Climate Drought
All Stories
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![An aerial shot of a city at the foot of mountains and next to a slice of empty desert.]()
![An aerial shot of a city at the foot of mountains and next to a slice of empty desert.]()
Welcome to Buckeye, the desert city out to surpass Phoenix by importing water
The Arizona city is eyeing "crazy" ideas to keep growing, including piping water hundreds of miles uphill from Mexico.
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Record-breaking wildfires blanket Brazil with smoke
The blazes come on top of a drought that has left some river communities stranded.
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How efforts to protect an Indigenous oasis almost led to its demise
The National Park Service's vision of Quitobaquito Springs as a "wild" park was at odds with the Indigenous caretakers already living there.
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![Alfalfa fields at the Fondomonte farm in Butler Valley, Arizona.]()
![Alfalfa fields at the Fondomonte farm in Butler Valley, Arizona.]()
Arizona is evicting a Saudi alfalfa farm, but the thirsty crop isn’t going anywhere
The state’s decision will do little to solve a water shortage largely driven by irrigated agriculture.
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Louisiana’s saltwater wedge is a slow-motion disaster
Drought on the Mississippi River is pulling salt water toward New Orleans, threatening drinking water supplies.
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Environmentalists sue Utah for failing to protect the shrinking Great Salt Lake
Researchers warn that the lake may disappear in five years if water loss continues at current rates.
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![wildfire in Louisiana]()
![wildfire in Louisiana]()
Even the bayous of Louisiana are now threatened by wildfires
In just one month, 7 times more acres burned than in an average year.
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![A voluntarily fallowed field stands next to an active wheat field at the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation along the Colorado River near the California-Arizona border.]()
![A voluntarily fallowed field stands next to an active wheat field at the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation along the Colorado River near the California-Arizona border.]()
Feds ease up on Colorado River restrictions — for now
This year’s wet winter helped save the river from collapse. But a reckoning is on the horizon.
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![A view of a green slop and snow-crested mountains.]()
![A view of a green slop and snow-crested mountains.]()
The case of the Colorado River’s missing water
Researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of snow that falls but never shows up in the river.
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![A brick wall graffitied with the phrase]()
![A brick wall graffitied with the phrase]()
In Arizona water ruling, the Hopi tribe sees limits on its future
Arizona's unique method for awarding water to tribes was supposed to open up economic possibilities beyond farming for the Hopi Tribe. Instead, the tribe says it has dashed their dreams of building a thriving homeland.
