New Mexico consortium aims to expand lending in low-income communities

Entrepreneurs in low-income and immigrant communities often lack access to capital that could help expand their businesses, thereby easing generational poverty. These business leaders, moreover, tend to rely on informal lenders who offer small, costly, high-interest loans that can lead them into a debt cycle.

Alaska’s wettest region now in extreme drought

According to U.S. Drought Monitor scientists, southeast Alaska’s wettest area has been in extreme drought for two years. The scientists say this is a severe dryness that has never before been registered in the area.

Booming oil industry in US has EPA asking what should be done with the wastewater

While states, Tribes and oil companies have recently been given more discretion on drilling, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is struggling with how to protect the environment and human health from the industry’s wastewater.

Contaminated water six months after deadly California wildfire

The Camp Fire in Paradise California killed more than 80 residents, destroyed 19,000 buildings, and six months afterward, the rural community is struggling to rebuild—only to learn more recently that its water pipes contain cancer-causing benzene.

Strong winter pulls Colorado out of year-long drought

Since 2017, Colorado has been grappling with a costly drought, but meteorologists now say that after heavy snow and rain fall, most of the state has recovered.