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Houston has to decide whether to rethink its development strategy

Sep 8, 2017
Wes Highfield witnessed last week’s flood in real time from his home in Friendswood, Texas, about 20 miles south of downtown Houston. “I do this kind of research for a living,” said Highfield, who teaches about flood loss and mitigation strategy at Texas A&M, Galveston. “This is the first time I’ve watched it unfold before […]
Chris Ginter wades through deep floodwaters on September 6, 2017 in Houston, Texas. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In Congress, a move to save an earthquake early warning system from budget cuts

Jul 21, 2017
Efforts to build a warning system have been going on for years. Now they face possible demise.
A screen shows the countdown to a simulated 7.8 magnitude earthquake during a drill for first responders at the Office of Emergency Management in Los Angeles in 2013.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Troubled Waters: Trump budget casts Great Lakes cleanup into doubt

Jul 7, 2017
The 2018 proposed budget calls for cutting the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Employees from Barr Engineering install instruments to measure groundwater seepage and flow between the sediments and the St. Louis River in Duluth, Minnesota. The data will help in the design, construction and installation of caps aimed at protecting the environment and wildlife from harmful material.
Derek Montgomery/MPR News

Here’s the company that makes those National Park and Smokey Bear signs

Jun 23, 2017
One woman started it out of a garage and now they make 25,000 signs and markers a year
Wood Product Signs and Rocky Mountain Aluminum workers posing with Smokey the Bear signs.
Courtesy Wood Product Signs and Rocky Mountain Aluminum

How long you live depends on where you live, if you're poor

Apr 11, 2016
The rich tend to live 10+ years longer than the worst-off. Health choices matter.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Mapping the future of the European Union

Nov 6, 2012
Geographer Harm de Blij on the destiny of an unstable union.

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