Magazine

April 16, 2007

Craig Childs lifts the rug of modern-day Phoenix, Ariz., to examine the remnants of the civilization that preceded it -- the Hohokam people, who also built a great city in the middle of the desert, and flourished until the day they ran out of water. Also in this issue: Just over the Arizona-Sonora border, Tohono O'odham traditionalists have joined environmental groups in fighting a proposed Mexican hazardous waste landfill.

Feature

Phoenix Falling?

Craig Childs lifts the rug of modern-day Phoenix, Ariz., to examine the remnants of the civilization that preceded it – the Hohokam people, who also built a great city in the middle of the desert, and flourished until the day they ran out of water.

Craig Childs April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Editor's Note

Dry to the bone

Despite a relatively snowy winter here in western Colorado, the season itself seems to have shrunk, with spring arriving weeks earlier than it once did in a trend with ominous consequences for the desert Southwest, particularly Phoenix.

Paul Larmer Opinion April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Uncommon Westerners

Bay bags his way to the top

Brian Bay of Sandy, Utah, is the world champion of grocery-store baggers, following his triumph at the National Grocers Association Best Bagger Competition.

Michelle Blank April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Essays

Imagine

A teacher asks his students and the rest of us to imagine: What would the world be like if we had the courage to use our imaginations?

David Oates Essay April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Book Reviews

You ain’t from around here, are you?

In Brave New West: Morphing Moab at the Speed of Greed, Jim Stiles rips into the amenity-oriented tourist economy that has transformed his once-beloved Moab, but he offers little in the way of useful alternatives.

Brian Kevin April 16, 2007 From the print edition

The hidden costs of our coal habit

In Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future, Jeff Goodell reveals how the sausage is made when it comes to the primary source of America’s electricity.

Allen Best April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Writers on the Range

Montana puts limits on national Trout Unlimited

When national Trout Unlimited tried to get its Montana branch to stay out of state stream-access issues, the Montanans rebelled dramatically, much to Pat Munday’s delight.

Pat Munday Opinion April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Wealthy landowners and locals wade into the ditch

Jack Wright thinks Montanans are over-reacting to stream-access issues; after all, from the point of view of a fish, it’s a good thing when a rich man restores a stream, even if he locks out trespassers.

Jack Wright Opinion April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Heard Around the West

Squirrels vs. Santa Monica; Baby goes to rehab; crows and carriers; Maricopa County is booming big-time; Julie MacDonald vs. the Interior Department; boat horns vs. coyotes in Oxnard.

Betsy Marston April 16, 2007 From the print edition

Dear Friends

Life for interns after HCN; tell us what you think in our annual survey.

Jodi Peterson April 16, 2007 From the print edition

News

The sacred and the toxic

Just over the Arizona-Sonora border, Tohono O’odham traditionalists have joined environmental groups in fighting a proposed Mexican hazardous waste landfill.

John Dougherty April 16, 2007 From the print edition

An endangered Endangered Species Act?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tries an end-run around the Endangered Species Act; a leaked draft would weaken the bedrock law by changing the regulations that implement it rather than the law itself.

Jodi Peterson April 16, 2007 From the print edition