Water & policy
In need of water, an Idaho town turns to its neighbors / High Country News, Feb 2019
New rules limiting clean water protections ignore stream science / High Country News, Dec 2018
Congress sends bill bolstering earthquake program to Trump / High Country News, Dec 2018 (shared by Sen. Lisa Murkowski)
In the Southwest, drought doesn’t tell the whole story / High Country News, June 2018 (picked up by Water Deeply)
Tribal nations hold some of the best water rights in the West / High Country News, May 2018 (picked up by Water Deeply and the Durango Herald)
Fight over household wells highlights rural growing pains / High Country News, Feb 2018 (picked up by Water Deeply)
The tiny power plant that shapes the Colorado River — merely by existing / High Country News, Jan 2018 (radio interview on KDNK in Carbondale, CO; picked up by Water Deeply and the Durango Herald)
Water supplies fouled by fire / High Country News, Dec 2017; Mother Jones, Dec 2017
After Oroville, officials across the West review dam safety / High Country News, Dec 2017 (follow-up: What went wrong at Oroville?)
California Westlands water settlement in limbo / High Country News, Nov 2017; Water Deeply, Nov 2017 (radio interview on KVPR in California)
Interior sends mixed signals on California water project / High Country News, Oct 2017
A flood of drought news can reduce water use / High Country News, Oct 2017
One in 30 wells in the West failed in recent years / High Country News, Oct 2017
As sediment builds, one dam faces its comeuppance / High Country News, Oct 2017 (radio interview on KVNF in Paonia, CO)
California water project could cramp Colorado River Plan / High Country News, Sept 2017
Will Utah dam the Bear River? / High Country News, Sept 2017
U.S. and Mexico agree to share a shrinking Colorado River / High Country News, Sept 2017 (follow-up: Why a Colorado River reunion with the sea isn't a guarantee)
How farmers can help keep salt out of the Colorado River / High Country News, Aug 2017 (radio interview on KVNF in Paonia, CO; picked up by the Durango Herald)
A legal snarl in Idaho portends future conflicts over water / High Country News, Aug 2017; Water Deeply, Aug 2017
Meet the latest Trump administration nominees / High Country News, July 2017; Mother Jones, July 2017
More than 1 million comments were submitted to Interior (national monuments review) / High Country News, July 2017
Can private money solve public water problems? / High Country News, June 2017
Climate change is shrinking the West's water supply / High Country News, May 2017 (picked up by Grist and Mother Jones)
In these Western cities, using less water costs more / High Country News, May 2017
Oil pipeline leak threatens Alabama river rich in unique species / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Ideas percolating / San Jose Mercury News, March 2016 (PDF)
Giant balls of bacteria pile up on Arctic lake beds, ooze toxin / Eos.org, Dec 2015; Eos print magazine, Feb 2016 (PDF)
Earth & environment
Return to Death Valley (feature) / Science Notes, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Idaho’s new governor: ‘climate change is real’ / High Country News, Jan 2019
National Parks are warming twice as fast as the U.S. overall / High Country News, Sept 2018
An Alaska ballot measure could kill Pebble Mine / High Country News, Sept 2018 (picked up by Mother Jones)
All (climate) politics is local / High Country News, April 2018
A flurry of research illuminates snow's foes / High Country News, March 2018
'Atmospheric rivers' aid the West — and imperil it / High Country News, Jan 2018; Mother Jones, Jan 2018
2017 in natural disasters / High Country News, Dec 2017
In Utah, public access to state lands comes at a cost / High Country News, Nov 2017
In monuments report, a skewed view of protections / High Country News, Sept 2017
How oceans impact Western reservoirs and rivers / High Country News, Sept 2017; Oceans Deeply, Sept 2017
The fire season by the numbers / High Country News, Aug 2017
The wine industry's battle with climate change / High Country News, May 2017 (radio interview on KVNF in Paonia, CO; starts at 4:06)
Without a drought, California takes stock / High Country News, April 2017
Winter snows bring spring flows / High Country News, April 2017; Mother Jones, April 2017
What the West was like before the EPA / High Country News, April 2017
Planes, pits & snowmobiles: how scientists get good data / High Country News, March 2017 (picked up by Wired; radio interview on KVNF in Paonia, CO)
Why desalination alone won't water the West / High Country News, Feb 2017
Sustainable tuna fishing is bad for climate – here’s why / New Scientist, Jan 2017 (PDF)
The sweet scent of plastic lures seabirds to a dangerous snack / New Scientist, Nov 2016 (PDF)
Artificial killer cells mimic life as they wipe out opponents / New Scientist, Oct 2016 (PDF)
Monsanto cuts deal to use CRISPR to engineer food / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Oil pipeline construction halted after Native American protests / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Ancient rock formations could be oldest fossils on the planet / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
First US offshore wind farm will power an entire island / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
World’s oldest ocean crust dates back to ancient supercontinent / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Fossils, islands and forests added to UNESCO World Heritage List / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF)
Probing waters to track life / Mercury News, June 2016 (PDF)
These fungal spores 'talk' to each other to find partners / Science, April 2016 (PDF)
Seesawing sea surface height corresponds with global temperatures, study finds / GeoSpace, Dec 2015 (PDF)
Tiny fuel spills at gas stations can contaminate soil / GeoSpace, Dec 2015 (PDF)
Preserved trees that grew 12,000 years ago improve radiocarbon dating calibrations / GeoSpace, Dec 2015 (PDF)
New dams may expose Canadian seafood consumers to higher levels of neurotoxin / Mongabay, Nov 2015 (PDF)
El Niño pushes California calamari landings down / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Nov 2015 (PDF); San Jose Mercury News, Nov 2015
King tides hit Monterey Bay / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Nov 2015 (PDF)
Dungeness delays hit businesses hard / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Nov 2015 (PDF)
Apples need winter's bite / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Oct 2015 (PDF)
Posts on aquatic ecology / The Watershed, Aug 2014 - March 2016
El Niño lets landslide scientists get back to their research / San Jose Mercury News, Jan 2016 (PDF)
Apple growers resilient among challenges / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Dec 2015 (PDF); San Jose Mercury News, Jan 2016
Animals & plants
Marine mammals and turtles rebound after endangered species protections / High Country News, Jan 2019
How politics could impact future counts of Yellowstone grizzlies / High Country News, Oct 2018
Comment period ending for sage grouse review / High Country News, Nov 2017
Invade, steal water: The plant spreading in Utah's wetlands / High Country News, March 2017
Bees of the sea: Tiny crustaceans pollinate underwater plants / New Scientist, Dec 2016 (PDF)
Pilot whales babysit each other’s young while swimming in groups / New Scientist, Nov 2016 (PDF)
Bees collect honeydew from bugs before spring blossoms arrive / New Scientist, Nov 2016 (PDF)
Flower hijacks the fragrance of attacked bees to imprison flies / New Scientist, Oct 2016 (PDF)
Invading giant geckos get stuck on a single building / New Scientist, Oct 2016 (PDF)
Chimps, bonobos and orangutans grasp how others view the world / New Scientist, Oct 2016 (PDF)
Don’t worry, bee happy: Bees found to have emotions and moods / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
White gulls dependent on ice are disappearing from the Arctic / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Stonefly lays eggs or has live births depending on the season / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Birds sing to their unborn chicks to warn them about hot weather / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Marsupial lion’s primate-like forearms made it a unique predator / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Selfish dogs would rather play with a toy than help a human / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Mystery of why some sunflowers track the sun across skies solved / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Giant honeybees may act like a collective lung to beat the heat / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Videos reveal the Russian doll parasitic world of the deep seas / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Save the world's largest living thing: build a fence around it / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF); (picked up by the Washington Post)
Bees spew water at their hive-mates when the temperature rises / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF)
Hammerhead sharks roll over and swim sideways to save energy / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF)
Kiss of death marks young ant rivals for worker kill squad / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF)
'Landmark study' solves mystery behind classic evolution story / Science, June 2016 (PDF)
Giraffe genome reveals clues to sky-scraping height / Science, May 2016 (PDF)
Altruism in owls? Chicks perform surprisingly generous act / Science, May 2016 (PDF)
'Trap-jaw' spiders chomp down with surprising force / Science, April 2016 (PDF)
Move over, California grizzlies: Lace lichen becomes state symbol / San Jose Mercury News, Feb 2016 (PDF)
Critically endangered leatherback sea turtles still roam the Pacific, for now / San Jose Mercury News, Jan 2016 (PDF)
Red frogs are more devilish than their green counterparts / Science, Dec 2015 (PDF)
Harbor seals hang out on glacier ice / GeoSpace, Dec 2015 (PDF)
Eavesdropping on seabirds / PLOS Ecology Community blog, Dec 2015 (PDF)
Robotic raptors reveal complexities of avian alarm / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Nov 2015 (PDF)
Humanity
What you lose when you lose local news / High Country News, Dec 2018
The most detailed look yet at how early humans left Africa / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Ancient Chinese beer recipe reveals surprising ingredient / Science, May 2016 (PDF)
A woman's pelvis narrows as she ages / Science, April 2016 (PDF)
Human sacrifice may have helped societies become more complex / Science, April 2016 (PDF)
Service, support animals improve UCSC campus life / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Dec 2015 (PDF)
Biomedical
Building blocks of memories seen in brains for the first time / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Rewinding memories may help us recall where the good stuff is / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Triple-whammy drug kills parasites that make 20 million sick / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
US could be set to tackle opioid painkiller epidemic at last / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF)
Meningitis at Santa Clara University (series with Tracy Seipel): Students fret; Second student tested; Why isn't new vaccine universally recommended? / San Jose Mercury News, Feb 2016 (PDF fret; PDF tested; PDF vaccine)
Space & physics
Offshore oil drilling could hamper Arctic aurora research / High Country News, Nov 2018
Biggest radio telescope on Earth ready to receive alien signals / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Saturn’s rings may be from the whirl of a passing icy rock / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Tiny lightning bolt explosions can vaporise the moon’s thin soil / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Here’s what colourful clouds on alien gas giants would look like / New Scientist, Sept 2016 (PDF)
Fluorescent jellyfish proteins light up unconventional laser / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
Spatter from blood-soaked sponges could aid gun forensics / New Scientist, Aug 2016 (PDF)
How to expose a fake nuke without revealing what’s inside / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF)
Five incredible things we know about Pluto since 2015’s fly-by / New Scientist, July 2016 (PDF)
Solar streetlight illuminates innovative solutions / Out of the Fog, Dec 2015 (PDF)
Westlake Elementary School students explore NASA Mars research / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Oct 2015 (PDF)