Until the 1980s, conventional wisdom held that Wyoming was so arid that landfills didn’t need liners to prevent leaks. As a result, at least 21 of the state’s currently operating and closed municipal landfills are now leaking dangerous chemicals, such as nitrates, chlorides, pesticides and dry-cleaning solvents, into groundwater. The number could be even higher; […]
News
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Mowing down pollution
The drone of lawn mowers is a classic sign of summer in the suburbs. But these gas guzzlers contribute heavily to another summer phenomenon: smog. The yearly pollution from one gas mower is equivalent to “43 new cars driving 12,000 miles each,” says Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. […]
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Timber company collides with gas drillers
Conservationists have struck a $4 million deal with a progressive Canadian timber company, Tembec Inc., to protect land just west of the Glacier National Park/Waterton Lakes National Park complex. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is buying 3,800 acres of Elk River riparian habitat outright; purchasing a conservation easement on another 7,400 acres; and obtaining a […]
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Drilling done right?
‘Responsible’ gas development gets put to the test in northern New Mexico
Posted inJuly 19, 2004: They're Here: Global Warming's Unlikely Harbingers
Supreme Court reins in citizens’ right to sue
Conservationists can’t interfere with the government’s ‘own ordering of priorities’
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Follow-up
Chalk one up for endangered species. For the last five years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ignored citizen petitions to list endangered species if a plant or animal is already on the agency’s “candidate list.” Currently, there are 280 candidates, none of them protected under the Endangered Species Act owing to a lack […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Lame-duck governor moves deadlocked wilderness debate
UTAH The decades-old battle over how much of Utah’s desert should be protected as wilderness took a new turn in May, when Gov. Olene Walker, R, announced county-by-county discussions to break the impasse. Utah has lagged behind other Western states in designating wilderness areas on Bureau of Land Management land: Of nearly 23 million acres […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Proposal for Lassie’s lumber mill has enviros barking
WASHINGTON A dilapidated lumber mill in the Columbia River Gorge, famous for its appearance in an 1967 TV episode of Lassie, is now the site of a controversial development proposal. Since the time when the famous collie floated down the flume to the Broughton Lumber mill, recreation — particularly windsurfing — has skyrocketed in the […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
High-stakes logging plan gets go-ahead
OREGON In June, federal land managers announced one of the largest timber sales the Northwest has ever seen. Two years ago, the Biscuit Fire torched 500,000 acres in southern Oregon and California. Now, in a final environmental impact statement, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management propose opening parts of the burned […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Mining law claims mountain
COLORADO For nearly 30 years, the people of Crested Butte, Colo., have fought mining claims on Mount Emmons, known locally as “the Red Lady” — a beloved backcountry skiing spot and the town’s breathtaking backdrop. The town’s determination to save the Red Lady heralded a shift in values in Western mining communities, from resource extraction […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Debate rages over firefighting airplanes
WEST Just as fire season arrived in the West, the federal government touched off a blaze of controversy. In May, citing safety concerns, the Interior Department and the Forest Service canceled their contracts for 33 privately owned large air tankers. The decision followed a report from the National Transportation Safety Board, which detailed three plane […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Border Patrol wants motorized access to wilderness
ARIZONA As part of a sweeping new initiative to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is pushing to give the U.S. Border Patrol regular motorized access to more than 330,000 acres of wilderness along the Mexican border. The Border Patrol wants unlimited cross-country access by motorcycle, the ability to […]
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
As fire season ignites, Smokey Bear’s legacy lingers
Land managers talk about letting firesburn, but politics douse the flames
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Oil money rules in the West’s mini-Middle East
Wyoming and New Mexico governors walk a jagged line between conservation and fiscal conservatism
Posted inJune 21, 2004: A Walk Between Worlds
Mining town gambles on a road to riches
A new highway will bypass a competitor, and sacrifice a bighorn sheep herd for development
Posted inJune 7, 2004: Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
Follow-up
Is clean water bad for business? Last year, the New Mexico Environment Department told Phelps Dodge Mining Company to clean up contaminated groundwater beneath its Tyrone Mine (HCN, 5/12/03: Phelps tries to Dodge bond). The state recently upheld its decision despite the company’s appeal, leading a company spokesman to tell the press: “We think it […]
Posted inJune 7, 2004: Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
Mountain bikers go wild
OREGON Environmentalists hoping to create a 37,000-acre Badlands Wilderness Area about 20 miles east of Bend, Ore., got a tremendous boost in February, when the local mountain bike group endorsed the proposal. Because bicycles are banned from wilderness areas, many mountain bikers are lukewarm, at best, about proposals to create more wilderness. But the biker-run […]
Posted inJune 7, 2004: Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
Calendar
The Worldwatch Institute, in partnership with Earthworks, has a new online consumer guide that offers suggestions on how to shop more responsibly, for the sake of both the environment and your family’s health. You can also find out about everything from buying better-quality chocolate to learning where to recycle old DVDs and CDs. www.worldwatch.org/pubs/goodstuff Contact […]
Posted inJune 7, 2004: Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
Arizona voters say ‘yes’ to open space
Unusual alliances — and a little bit of pork — give land preservation an economic boost
Posted inJune 7, 2004: Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
Small-time ski operator fights for his life
A mom-and-pop ski area takes on a Texas billionaire and his plans for a mega-development