Items by Puanani Mench

Mining may no longer be king of the mountain

Environmentalists are delighted by a new court ruling that says Gale Norton’s Interior Department abdicated its duty when it refused to regulate hard-rock mining

Puanani Mench Feb. 16, 2004 From the print edition

A moment of truth for user fees

The Recreation Fee Demonstration Program is renewed until January 2006, despite mounting criticism of the program

Puanani Mench Jan. 19, 2004 From the print edition

Forest protection on the honor system

The House and Senate pass the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, which environmentalists fear will do the opposite of its name

Puanani Mench Dec. 8, 2003 From the print edition

Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them

In Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them, Mark Jerome Walters says that modern "ecodemics" like mad cow disease and Lyme disease can be blamed on human meddling with nature

Puanani Mench Nov. 24, 2003 From the print edition

State picks up federal slack on perchlorate

Outgoing California Gov. Gray Davis signs two bills into law to protect drinking water from perchlorate contamination

Puanani Mench Nov. 10, 2003 From the print edition

Snowmaking and drought: a bad combination

Artificial snowmaking at Colorado ski resorts can lead to pollution problems when water is taken from rivers contaminated by heavy metals from mining

Puanani Mench Oct. 27, 2003 From the print edition

Mining companies slapped with half the bill for Superfund mess

In Idaho, a judge rules that Hecla and Asarco are responsible for pollution in the Silver Valley, but that the two companies created only half the mine tailings and therefore need pay for only half the estimated damage costs

Puanani Mench Oct. 27, 2003 From the print edition

West Coast states tackle global warming

Outgoing California Gov. Gray Davis is working with Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Washington Gov. Gary Locke on a regionwide plan for slowing greenhouse gas emissions

Puanani Mench Oct. 27, 2003 From the print edition

National monuments are here to stay

The Supreme Court refuses to hear arguments against six national monuments that President Clinton created under the authority of the 1906 Antiquities Act

Puanani Mench Oct. 27, 2003 From the print edition

Contamination uncovered at Energy office

Beryllium contamination in a Las Vegas Energy Department complex may have come from a 1965 nuclear reactor explosion, some 85 miles away

Puanani Mench Oct. 13, 2003 From the print edition