· Air & Climate
Flash floods in steep terrain, explained: rain, rock and runoff
Why steep, narrow valleys turn heavy rain into sudden floods: stalled storms, thin soils, fast runoff, the forecast terms to know and how to stay safe.
The Journal
Every piece we have published, newest first: field notes, explainers and practical guides on water, air, wildlife and life outdoors. 17 pieces so far.
· Community & Lifestyle
Rail-trails and the small-town comeback along old railroad grades
How abandoned railroad lines became trails, why some trail towns thrive while others stall, and a practical checklist for riding a long rail-trail well.
· Community & Lifestyle
Brownfields explained: how old industrial sites get cleaned up and reused
What makes a lot a brownfield, how site assessments and risk-based cleanups work, what old sites become, and the questions neighbors can ask along the way.
· Sustainable Living
Heat pumps in cold mountain valleys: what works and what to watch
Cold-climate heat pumps can heat a house in a frosty valley. Here's how they work, what COP means, and how to site, size and back one up in the mountains.
· Sustainable Living
Where your recycling actually goes after the truck pulls away
Follow a bin of cans, boxes and bottles from the curb through the sorting plant to new products, and learn which habits keep your load out of the landfill.
· Conservation & Wildlife
Hellbenders, mudpuppies and other giants of North American streams
Meet the hellbender, North America's largest salamander, and its big relatives: how to tell them apart, how they live, and why they need clean water.
· Water & Rivers
Algae blooms in rivers: green mats, toxic scums and golden algae
Why summer rivers grow green mats, how to tell plain algae from toxic cyanobacteria and golden algae, and what the signs mean for swimmers, dogs and anglers.
· Sustainable Living
Backyard composting without the smell: what each odor is telling you
A healthy compost pile smells like damp soil. Ammonia, rotten eggs and sour vinegar each point to a specific problem, and most can be fixed in one afternoon.
· Outdoor Recreation
Paddling small rivers: how to read a stream gauge before you go
Stage, flow, trend and lag time: a step-by-step way to read a stream gauge and tell whether a small river is too low, about right or too high to paddle today.
· Conservation & Wildlife
Roadside wildflowers: a spring field guide from ditch to roadcut
Coltsfoot, redbud, bluebonnets and dame's rocket: a guide to spring roadside flowers, where each grows, when it blooms and how to tell the look-alikes apart.
· Air & Climate
Radon at home: how to test, what the numbers mean, and how fixes work
Radon is invisible, odorless and common in basements across the country. How home tests work, how to read a result, and what a mitigation system really does.
· Conservation & Wildlife
From spoil piles to grasslands: elk, owls and sparrows on old mines
Old surface mines from Kentucky to Wyoming have turned into grasslands for elk, owls and rare sparrows. How it happened, what it cost, and how to visit well.