When I first saw this late at night on Highway 98 in northern Arizona I felt a distinct Close Encounters vibe. However, as I got closer it finally revealed itself as . . . just an ordinary power generating station. When I drove past, I saw that it was, specifically, the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired plant built in the ’70s on land leased from the Navajo Nation. However, shale gas eventually made it uneconomic to operate, and last year it ceased operation. For now, though, the lights are still on.

January 27, 2020 — Coconino County, Arizona

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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