With global warming an increasing threat, some are urging
a return to nuclear energy, but the industry’s own checkered
past reminds us that a nuclear renaissance will be neither easy nor
cheap
Magazine
September 4, 2006
As the global warming threat increases, nuclear energy enjoys a renaissance, but the industry’s own checkered past hints that nuke power will be neither easy nor cheap. Also in this issue: The BLM’s decision to lease land for energy exploration in the watersheds of Grand Junction and Palisade, Colo., reveals the way oil and gas leasing works.
Feature
With uranium prices rising, speculators are looking anew
at busted mining towns like Jeffrey City, Wyo., but locals have
learned to be skeptical
The Navajo Nation is fighting to keep uranium mining off
the reservation, but eager uranium companies are determined to
mine– and the federal government is on their side
The nation’s nuclear infrastructure is aging, and in
need of very expensive – and very complicated –
retooling just to survive
Sidebar
The federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was
created to compensate uranium miners and mill workers sickened by
their jobs, but on the Navajo Reservation, Dr. Bruce Baird
Struminger says the program has proved flawed
Graphics show the location of the West’s nuclear
sites and uranium sources, and the nuclear fuel cycle is
described
The French have dealt with their radioactive waste for
decades by reprocessing it, but the process is more problematic
than it sounds, particularly in an age of terrorism
Editor's Note
High Country News reveals its odd
historical connection with the West’s uranium obsession of
the 1950s
Uncommon Westerners
Economist and demographer Larry Swanson wants to help
rural Western communities find a way to survive
Essays
In a dark, narrow storm drain below the border town of
Douglas, Ariz., eight illegal immigrants drowned in the summer of
1997
Perspective
Worried about falling poll numbers, some Republicans, led
by Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, are resisting some of the
Bush administration’s more far-reaching attacks on
environmental protection
Book Reviews
The Dire Elegies laments the plight of
North America's endangered wildlife in poetic detail
In 109 East Palace, the granddaughter
of one of the Manhattan Project's administrators re-examines the
story of the atomic bomb built in Los Alamos
The Boy Who Invented Skiing" is the
memoir of Swain Wolfe, who spent his boyhood in a Colorado Springs
tuberculosis sanatorium in the '30s
Heard Around the West
Dirk Kempthorne and luxury RVs; The Farmer Wants a Wife,
maybe; no rules (or bras) at Sturgis; look before you pee;
hard-working Washington pot-growers; Arizona’s biggest
marijuana farm; with defense lawyers like this one, who needs a
prosecutor?; and big bird with a bad grip
Dear Friends
Bikers, filmmakers, engineers, cheesemakers all visit
HCN; Ed Wayburn celebrates 100th
birthday
News
The BLM’s decision to lease land for energy
exploration in the watersheds of Grand Junction and Palisade,
Colo., reveals the way oil and gas leasing works
BLM and Forest Service officials say they have little
power to prevent drilling in an area once it’s been
OK’d for leasing, but critics say the government simply
refuses to use its power
Across the West, anti-government activists from out of
state are funding ballot measures that attack government spending
and the judiciary as well as land-use planning
With Congress stalled on immigration reform, Western
states such as Colorado are tackling the issue with tough new
laws
Two Weeks in the West
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne kicks off "listening
tour" on "cooperative conservation"; court shoots down Forest
Service’s anti-public input rules; Idaho judge blasts
BLM’s similar anti-public input rules; feds ignore
states’ requests for roadless acreage
Letters
Today's Featured Stories
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COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER San Juan Citizens Alliance, a leading grassroots conservation advocacy organization for over 30 years, seeks a passionate, dynamic, organized, and technology-savvy communications professional to help...
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OPERATIONS AND FINANCE MANAGER Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national grassroots organization led by women, seeks a resourceful, self-motivated, team player to serve as Operations and Finance Manager....
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND Colorado Canyons Association (CCA) fosters community stewardship, education and awareness of our National Conservation Lands with a focus on Dominguez-Escalante, Gunnison Gorge and...
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WYOMING STATE DIRECTOR Save the World ... or at least a piece of it! Join The Nature Conservancy and make a tangible and lasting impact by creating a...
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY NON-PROFIT NEAR YOSEMITE Demanding, but rewarding, advocacy work on forest, water, wildland, and wildlife issues. Applicants should have experience dealing with land management planning, public speaking, grassroots organizing,...
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NEW AGRARIAN APPRENTICESHIP Quivira Coalition's 2020 New Agrarian Apprenticeships in Regenerative Ranching and Farming -Apprenticeships run 4/20 - 11/20 Applications accepted 10/15/19 - 12/1/19 NAP partners with skilled...
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PHILANTHROPY DIRECTOR AT WILDERNESS WORKSHOP Wilderness Workshop seeks a full time Philanthropy Director to raise funds for our team. Learn more: www.wildernessworkshop.org
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EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT WITH WESTERN RESOURCE ADVOCATES Western Resource Advocates (WRA) seeks an enthusiastic and organized problem solver to join our growing team as an Executive Assistant. The Executive Assistant is instrumental...
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WYOMING OUTDOOR COUNCIL Two positions: Development Director OR Development Writer, Communications Director. Full job descriptions at https://wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org/careers.
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CONSERVATION PROJECT MANAGER Great Land Trust seeks to hire a Conservation Project Manager. Position is full-time, based in Anchorage, Alaska. First review of applications will be on October...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Eagle Valley Land Trust Executive Director Position Description Summary of Position: The Executive Director, working with and reporting to the Board of Directors, has overall...
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FINANCE & LOGISTICS COORDINATOR 
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, founded in 1928 as an independent nonprofit organization, is a biological field station located near Crested Butte, Colorado. Our primary...
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DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
See Full Job Description
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DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Position: Development Coordinator Responsible to: Executive Director Time Commitment: 15-20 hours per week, or as otherwise agreed upon General Description: The Development Coordinator assists the...
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EDUCATION CENTER MANAGER Friends of Cedar Mesa seeks a full-time Education Manager for the Bears Ears Education Center to provide day to day operational and administrative oversight. See...
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TROUT UNLIMITED SCP SOUTHWEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR Seeking to hire an experienced advocate/manager to oversee the organization's sportsmen/women-driven advocacy in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. Open until filled
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PROGRAM MANAGER for northern AZ collaborative conservation ranchlands group
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Partners are seeking an experienced and energetic Executive Director who is excited about the opportunity to lead our growing organization! A full description of the...
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR High Country News Seeks an Executive Director to advance its mission, grow its audience and influence, and strategically and sustainably guide the organization through a...
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2 PROPERTIES ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE GILA WILDERNESS Organic farm, hot springs, San Francisco River runs through both. [email protected]
