Lawmakers are trying, for a second time, to toss a lifeline to the Forest Service. Ballooning fire-fighting costs and constrictive Bush-era budgets have been squeezing the soul (read: expenses other than fire retardant, hoses and helicopters) out of the agency. But last week, 12 senators and five U.S. reps, most of them from western states, […]
Blogs
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Colorado’s job bias complaints soar
Nancy Sienko became Colorado’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission field office director three years ago, in the middle of a surge of discrimination charges. While job-based discrimination complaints grew by 17 percent in the United States in the past five years, the caseload in Colorado exploded by 46 percent in the same time period. Sienko, with […]
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Paper exercise or real progress?
In words typical of claims by environmental organizations, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently trumpeted “a big step forward for polar bear protection” when the Bush Administration agreed to designate critical habitat for the Polar Bear as part of a settlement with the group and its allies (Nature’s Voice, Jan/Feb 2009). Based on my […]
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Enviros suffer first major setback in Obama era
The environmental movement has just fallen short of a major goal, for the first time in the new green-trending era of President Barack Obama and the ramped-up Democrats in Congress. The stakes of this national battle are mostly on Western ground. It’s the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 — the biggest public lands […]
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Restorationists gather in Santa Cruz
Last week I attended the 27th annual conference of the Salmonid Restoration Federation. Restoration scientists, restoration technicians and young people enrolled in the California Conservation Corps gathered in Santa Cruz, California for four days of field trips, plenary addresses and workshops which showcased watershed and salmon restoration programs and projects from throughout California. You can […]
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The Native health gap
Despite the skyrocketing cost of healthcare, Americans are enjoying longer lifespans, and fewer children are dying in infancy. Unless they’re Native American, that is. The numbers for Washington state, as reported in the Seattle P-I, are shocking: A recent state Department of Health report showed that the march against cancer, heart disease and infant mortality […]
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Fatal Attraction?
The bats of America are in dire straits. In the Eastern U.S., hundreds of thousands of hibernating bats have died from the mysterious fungal affliction known as white nose syndrome. To make matters worse, tree bats are getting whacked by wind turbines. Bats live up to 30 years and have one of the lowest reproductive rates among […]
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The “tyranny of fleece”
President Obama today named activist and author Van Jones — an African American — as his Special Advisor on Green Jobs. Perhaps no one is more qualified to dole out stimulus funds for green jobs than Jones — especially now, as more and more people are impacted by a deteriorating environment and a failing economy. […]
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Shale tests the waters
Between 105 and 315 million gallons of water per day: by current estimates, that’s the amount of water that could be swallowed by a 2.5-million-barrel-per-day-oil shale industry. It’s an impressive number, but a bit of an abstraction. For a more visceral take on the impacts of oil shale, take a look at the 25 opposition […]
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Crossed purposes in Wyoming?
On February 27, Wyoming passed a set of laws designed to flesh out a legal framework for burying carbon emissions in the geologic cavities, or “pore spaces,” that lie beneath significant portions of the state. The rules attempt to answer a few pertinent questions. Notably: Who will be responsible for the carbon once it’s been injected […]
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Mixed messages
Yesterday, the New York Times had a swell interactive map that showed unemployment rates in every county in the nation. It showed that, with the exception of Michigan, the West is getting whacked by job losses harder than just about anyone else. California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington are all awash with high unemployment rates. The […]
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My pet gripe
Have you noticed that Americans are always declaring something in their back yard the biggest, longest, cleanest, dirtiest and my personal favorite, most pristine? One community in rural Northern California decided a while back to erect the nation’s “tallest” flagpole as an economic development project. Grants were obtained and the pole went up. For a […]
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Endangered Species Act restored
Gray wolves and other endangered species will be happy about President Barack Obama’s decision on Tuesday to bring back the original rules of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In December 2008, as a parting gift, the Bush administration introduced rules to allow federal projects to bypass a mandatory review from either the U.S. Fish & […]
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Requiem for a jaguar
On Feb. 20, we wrote that for the first time ever in the U.S., scientists had trapped a jaguar and fitted it with a radio tracking collar. Just 10 days later, though, the big cat was dead. Known as Macho B, he had prowled 500 square miles of the U.S.-Mexico border region for more than […]
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Western water woes
A deal in the 1920s divided water rights amongst Western states. But back then, water conditions were more ideal. Now that we’re in somewhat of a prolonged drought, many water managers are warning that there may not be enough water to fulfill the Colorado River Compact. Matt Jenkins spun an excellent tale about the issue […]
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A loss for Klamath dam and water deals
In a defeat for those organizations and interests which support proposed Klamath River Water and Dam Deals, the California Water Resources Board has rejected a request from energy giant PacifiCorp to once again delay consideration of the impacts PacifiCorp’s five Klamath River dams have on water quality. In a late February letter to “interested parties” […]
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Tell me sweet little lies…
Bottled water has always been an elaborate PR scam– both an invented necessity and a bizarre symbol of luxury. Nevertheless, I buy it sometimes, especially on long car trips. I don’t know why, but I usually pick Fiji. Maybe it’s the square shape and snazzy palm frond label. I have always known that I am being seduced by […]
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Power Shift 2009
Federal action on climate change. Green jobs. Youth empowerment… and economic development. Am I buying it? Yes. Are energy companies buying it? Sometimes. I am – by default (because of age) – part of this Millennial generation, and we’ve been called lazy, yes, but we’ve also stood up for the things we believe in. Maybe […]
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Wind power and wildlife don’t mix
Montana ranks fifth in wind energy potential in the U.S., with an estimated capacity of 116,000 megawatts over 17 million windy acres. To date, the state has installed less than 300 MW of wind power, but more projects are underway. Hoping to “spark cooperative efforts between wind energy and conservation interests, so that the promise […]
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The rich black allure
Oil shale is kind of like online journalism — there’s such potential there, but from the looks of it, we may never figure out how to make a profitable industry of it. Which must partly explain the contradictions in Ken Salazar’s latest plans for the resource. Yesterday, the secretary of the interior announced he’ll be […]