Joe Wertz
Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state. He previously served as Managing Editor of Urban Tulsa Weekly, as the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Oklahoma Gazette and worked as a Staff Writer for The Oklahoman. Joe was a weekly arts and entertainment correspondent for KGOU from 2007-2010. He grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.
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Federal firefighters say they are again facing staff issues and low morale. Reforms to fix pay and hire more firefighters have stalled at U.S. agencies — despite promises to Congress.
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President Biden is pledging to boost firefighter pay to address a staffing shortage. Federal firefighters face low wages and poor benefits even as climate change makes their job more demanding.
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Scientists are getting more and better data on our changing climate. Now, there's a push to use it to help people cope with the extremes we know are coming. -
The 100th meridian has long divided the U.S. into an arid West and more humid East. Research suggests a warming climate is pushing that boundary east, shaking up agricultural economies along the way.
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When Scott Pruitt served as Oklahoma's attorney general, he took over a major pollution lawsuit brought by his predecessor. Critics accuse Pruitt of inaction on the case, which remains unresolved. -
Though the wind industry was once a political darling in the state, some say Oklahoma can no longer afford the tax breaks that helped it thrive. -
For decades, Tulsa planned carefully and imposed regulations to prevent the kind of devastating floods that used to make national headlines. Now other cities are noticing. -
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to clean up toxic Superfund sites faster. Cleanup in some places has dragged on for decades.
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As wind farms expand across the country some are facing new opposition. Military bases complain the tall turbines interfere with their training flights and safety of their pilots. -
Oklahoma's oil industry is spending millions on science lessons for public schools. But environmentalists say omitting climate change leaves students unprepared.
