Miners have many ways of turning rock into metal – brute force, corrosive chemicals, high heat and extreme pressure. Likewise, environmentalists are discovering there is more than one way to transform the West’s most refractory industry. Mining has fiercely resisted change since it was first given free license to pillage the mineral riches of a […]
Jon Christensen
Posted inMay 30, 1994: Can mining come clean?
Babbitt attacks mining’s gold heists
On the day he was not nominated to the Supreme Court, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt stepped up his campaign for reform of public-land laws in the West. Brandishing an oversized symbolic check, Babbitt bashed the “outdated” 1872 Mining Law that forced him to hand over more than $10 billion in gold to a Canada-based company […]
Posted inMay 30, 1994: Can mining come clean?
Can a copper firm restore a blasted ecosystem?
Introductory editor’s note: Wherever we look in the developed West, we see evidence of misuse: eroding streams, stripped forests, species such as the grizzly hanging on by their claws. Many believe it is not enough to simply stop the damage. We must also put the West back together. But many in the West are in […]
Posted inMay 30, 1994: Can mining come clean?
The labyrinthine nature of mine waste regulations
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, Can a copper firm restore a blasted ecosystem? While Kennecott grapples with a real mess of contamination on the ground and in the water around Bingham Canyon, it also finds itself entangled in a long-running debate about regulating mine wastes. The mining industry has successfully […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 1994: Draining the budget to desalt the Colorado
Las Vegas wheels and deals for Colorado River water
Las Vegas is prepared to give up its controversial quest to pipe underground water from rural Nevada, says the area’s top water official. But only if the booming metropolis can get more water from the Colorado River. That’s a big if, requiring changes in how the Colorado River has been run for most of this […]
Posted inDecember 27, 1993: Yellowstone
How military secrecy zones out Nevada
A reporter chronicles the strange happenings (that we shouldn’t know about) at the top-secret Nevada Test Site. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline How military secrecy zones out Nevada.
Posted inDecember 27, 1993: Yellowstone
DOE unlocks some classified data
Department of Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary launches an “openness initiative” that reveals the DOE’s sordid past. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline DOE unlocks some classified data.
Posted inNovember 29, 1993: Butte, Montana, seeks a new life
Goldfield Stories
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Goldfield Stories.
Posted inOctober 4, 1993: Mining reform: Searching for common ground
The vagaries of western mine reclamation
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The vagaries of western mine reclamation.
Posted inOctober 4, 1993: Mining reform: Searching for common ground
Miners get personal with Miller
People for the West! stages a protest a BLM decision to allow a massive copper mining project in the historic Robinson mining district is appealed To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Miners get personal with Miller.
Posted inOctober 4, 1993: Mining reform: Searching for common ground
The public process
Congress will select a conference committee to negotiate a compromise mining bill. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The public process.
Posted inAugust 23, 1993: Timber theft: Logging firms rob a lax agency
Babbitt unveils new grazing proposal
Babbitt’s grazing reform plans will be implemented slowly. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Babbitt unveils new grazing proposal.
Posted inAugust 9, 1993: Now dust is his crop, says Nevada rancher
Rancher joins coalition to fight ‘water grabs’
A wary rancher joins an environmental group after groundwater pumping dries his ranch. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Rancher joins coalition to fight ‘water grabs’.
Posted inAugust 9, 1993: Now dust is his crop, says Nevada rancher
Now dust is his crop, says Nevada rancher
Groundwater pumping dries Milt Thompson’s Diamond Valley Ranch. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Now dust is his crop, says Nevada rancher.
Posted inAugust 9, 1993: Now dust is his crop, says Nevada rancher
Nuclear industry rolls snake eyes in Nevada
The Nevada Legislature refuses the temptation of millions in federal funds by opposing the nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mt. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Nuclear industry rolls snake eyes in Nevada.
Posted inJune 14, 1993: Oregon's Trojan horse
Can Hazel O’Leary reinvent the Energy Department
Department head Hazel O’Leary takes steps to revitalize the Department Of Energy. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Can Hazel O’Leary reinvent the Energy Department.
Posted inMay 31, 1993: Salmon advocates say: the quiet slaughter continues
Restored habitat revives cui-ui
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Restored habitat revives cui-ui.
Posted inMay 31, 1993: Salmon advocates say: the quiet slaughter continues
Bomb testing may resume in Nevada
Nuclear bomb testing could resume in Nevada. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bomb testing may resume in Nevada.
Posted inApril 5, 1993: Special issue: Small towns under seige
Two reports warn of radioactive bullets
Depleted uranium bullets threaten radioactive contamination on military testing ranges. To read this article, download this HCN issue in PDF format. This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Two reports warn of radioactive bullets.
Posted inMarch 22, 1993: The dam that won't die
Fish in the desert
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Fish in the desert.