In much of the United States, developers spend more to build an affordable apartment for a low-income family than a market-rate one just down the street – sometimes far more. It is one of the central paradoxes of the nation’s housing crisis: The affordable homes that lower-income renters need most tend to be the costliest to build.

Concerns are growing about a 5,000-head hog confinement barn being planned near Valentine, 2.7 miles from the scenic Niobrara River, one of Nebraska’s  top tourist destinations.

Critics say the area’s sandy soils and shallow groundwater make it highly susceptible to contamination from hog manure leaching into groundwater or washing into the river, threatening float trips for the 60,000 paddlers who visit the Niobrara each year.

Household water costs could nearly double in some American cities, new research suggests, as climate change further stresses municipal water systems.