With Trucking Accidents Rising, Industry Debates When Drivers Should Be Sleeping
When you live in Wyoming you get to know what the back of a truck looks like. Most of the time you probably only notice them when they’re blocking the passing line on the highway, but in the last few weeks commercial trucks have been making headlines. They were a factor in two major pileups in Southeast Wyoming that caused scores of injuries and left two people dead. Trucking related accidents are going up across the country.
Wyoming Transportation Officials Are Focused On Highway Safety
Highway crashes on Wyoming Interstates are a common occurrence, but the back to back multiple vehicle crashes last month even got the attention of locals. It led to the latest discussion about traffic safety and whether more could be done. But experts say that highway safety, especially when it comes to interstate 80 has been on the minds of state Transportation officials for some time.
Birds Vs. Blades: Wind Power's Threat To The Sage Grouse
A chicken-sized game bird native to western sagebrush has become the subject of the biggest conservation project in U.S. history.
Efforts to keep the greater sage grouse off the endangered species list stretch across 11 states from North Dakota to California. It is a complex balancing act between saving critical ecosystems while at the same time protecting the region’s key industries.
WyoFile Reporter Says State's Sage Grouse Plan Must Prove Its Adaptability
It’s been five years since Governor Matt Mead signed an executive order giving special protections to the state’s greater sage grouse populations. Now that order says it’s time to re-evaluate the plan and make sure it’s actually doing its job. The goal is to convince the U.S. Fish and Wildlife not to list the grouse as an endangered species come September 30.
INSIDE ENERGY: Oil Boom Brings New Diversity To Rural Western States
Over the last few years, Wyoming's African American population has grown faster than in any other state. According to census data, between 2010 and 2013, the number of black residentsdoubled. In some counties, especially those with a lot of energy development or tourism, that increase was more like 300, 500 or even 800 percent. Other rural Western states, all with unemployment rates well below the national average, are experiencing a similar trend.
INSIDE ENERGY: Amidst Low Prices, North Dakota Scrambles To Change Oil Tax Rate
The oil and gas industry pays a ton of money in severance taxes to energy producing states like Colorado, Wyoming and especially North Dakota. When oil prices were high, North Dakota took in about $10.5 million a day. But as prices have fallen, so has revenue. In the midst of this, North Dakota lawmakers have passed a bill to stabilize and lower the state’s oil and gas tax rate.
INSIDE ENERGY: In Western Coal Country, Wyoming's Industry Runs Deep
For years, Wyoming has been the leader in Coal Production. Production has dipped slightly in the state, but Wyoming still produces 40% of the nation’s coal – far more than any other state. As part of Inside Energy’s series on the Future of Coal, Reporter Clay Scott visited the state and found the industry’s imprint on the West runs deep.
Energy Conference Focuses On Low Oil Prices
The super bowl of energy conferences, called CERAWeek, wrapped up in Houston on Friday. Industry executives, analysts, and policy makers were all there to talk about the current state of the industry and where it's headed. Panels and keynote speakers talked about everything from natural gas, to coal, to of course, oil prices.
Leigh Paterson is a Wyoming-based reporter for Inside Energy. That’s a public media collaboration focused on America’s energy issues. She was at the conference all week and joined Wyoming Public Radio's Caroline Ballard to talk all about it.
New Possibilities Blossom When Artists And Scientists Collaborate
Four scientists and four artists walk into a bar. It sounds like the setup to a joke. And as Wyoming Public Radio’s Micah Schweizer found out, the punch line is that scientists and artists actuallycan team up to create new and unexpected work.
