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Zoe Kurland

Latest Stories (3)

How the prickly pear cactus inspired a scientist seeking alternatives to fossil fuels

Aug 16, 2023
Engineers at the University of Texas at El Paso have discovered a low-cost, "biomimetic" way of generating hydrogen gas.
Materials engineer Navid Attarzadeh with a prickly pear cactus. The form of the plant inspired a new design for hydrogen gas generation.
Zoe Kurland/Marfa Public Radio

Cactus poachers are picking the Texas desert clean of rare species

Feb 21, 2022
The lucrative cactus black market is booming, and many species are threatened with extinction.
Karen Little, manager of the Sul Ross State University greenhouse, holds a rare Pelecyphora aselliformis cactus, seized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service en route to markets overseas.
Zoe Kurland

In rural West Texas, the demand for well water is growing

Dec 14, 2021
People have been moving to far West Texas during the pandemic, but officials are concerned there isn't enough water to go around.
Lee Killingsworth and another driller operate the rig and look out onto the property.
Zoe Kurland