The money’s still rolling in
to protect 97,000 acres of Colorado’s San Luis Valley. After
The Nature Conservancy negotiated a $31.28 million price tag for
the Baca Ranch last year, the federal government kicked in $10.5
million (HCN, 2/18/02: Dunes shifts toward park status). Now,
Congress has pledged $12 million from the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, money from offshore oil drilling, toward the
establishment of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Baca
National Wildlife Refuge.
Oil development on
Alaska’s North Slope has had a profound effect on
wildlife and the environment, and also on Alaska’s
native people, according to a new report (HCN, 1/20/03: Refuge back
in the crosshairs). The National Academies’ National Research
Council studied — for the first time — the cumulative
effects of more than 30 years of oil drilling on the North Slope,
and has made recommendations to Congress to minimize future
impacts.
The Environmental Protection Agency has
put the kibosh on water studies at a Superfund site
outside of Denver (HCN, 12/9/02: Life in the wasteland). Four years
ago, at the EPA’s request, the U.S. Geological Survey began a
groundwater study at Lowry Landfill. From 1965 to 1980, about 250
corporations dumped more than a million gallons of liquid hazardous
waste at Lowry (HCN, 6/21/99: A grudge against sludge). Now, the
EPA has suspended further groundwater sampling, saying
there’s no conclusive evidence of radioactive contamination.
The General Accounting Office has finally quit
hounding Vice President Dick Cheney. Last year, the GAO
unsuccessfully sued the White House to learn the details of
Cheney’s Energy Plan meetings with oil and gas industry
executives (HCN, 6/4/01: An energy plan as solid as natural gas).
Now, Cheney’s off the hook: After consulting with members of
Congress, the GAO has declined to appeal the judge’s
decision.
It isn’t easy being Green
— especially if New Mexico Democrats have their
way. State House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, introduced a
bill that would require “major parties” to have a
membership equal to at least 10 percent of registered voters in the
state. Last year, Greens — who include less than 2 percent of
the state’s voters — had their major party status
restored when their gubernatorial candidate received more than 5
percent of the vote (HCN, 10/14/02: New Mexico Greens lose
steam).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Latest Bounce.
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