Montana’s Colstrip coal-fired power plant units 3 and 4 were recently about to break ground, but a state court has ruled that the plants must comply with certain provisions of the Clean Air Act, potentially delaying or permanently stopping construction. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.5/download-entire-issue
Colstrip 3 and 4 mired in confusion
Side effects of herbicide shake EPA
Four almost four years, the Environmental Protection Agency has resisted banning the herbicide 2,4,5-T — the main ingredient of Agent Orange, used to defoliate forests during the Vietnam War — because of lack of hard evidence of its effects; now research is providing the evidence. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.4/download-entire-issue
North Dakota’s delegation listens to agriculture
All three of North Dakota’s congressmen were first elected before the environment was a major political issue, and because the state has a strong tradition of returning incumbents to office, all three continue to be re-elected despite their generally poor environmental records. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.4/download-entire-issue
Colorado solons attack reclamation regs
Lawmakers attacking Colorado’s mined land reclamation regulations in the state senate claim that the state bureaucracy made life tougher for the mining industry than was originally intended. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.4/download-entire-issue
Nuclear accident spurs investigation
A seal ruptured in the helium circulator of the Fort St. Vain nuclear plant at Platteville, Colo., releasing helium gas containing radioactive iodine into the plant interior and then into the outside air. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.3/download-entire-issue
IJC urges Canada to halt Poplar River Project
The Saskatchewan government has rejected a recommendation by the International Joint Comission — an independent organization that arbitrates boundary disputes between the U.S. and Canada — to halt construction of the 300 megawatt Poplar River power plant currently under construction eight miles north of the Montana border. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.3/download-entire-issue
Are commercial solar systems worth the price?
Enthusiasm for solar electric technology is being dampened by the reality that most consumers cannot afford it. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.3/download-entire-issue
Safety tips can snuff out woodburners’ nightmares
How to make wood stoves safe at home, with tips on creosote, flue pipes and more. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.2/download-entire-issue
Montana fights over Yellowstone water
As a moratorium on large-scale diversions from Montana’s portion of the Yellowstone River comes to an end, questions arise about how to allocate the water for energy, fisheries and agriculture. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.2/download-entire-issue
Defenders of nature in the nation’s highest court
William O. Douglas has articulated one of the most progressive environmental concepts of recent times: that the natural world should have legal rights. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.2/download-entire-issue
Utilities will sue over Montana coal tax
Three utilities are planning a lawsuit against the state of Montana, claiming that the state’s 30 percent coal severance tax is illegal, exorbitant, and a violation of the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.1/download-entire-issue
Issues, politics, people, and — fun
For the activists today in what is loosely described as the “environmental movement,” the qualities of leadership that motivate them are sometimes difficult to put into words. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.1/download-entire-issue
BPA bill shapes destiny of states in Rockies
Conservationists are alarmed by a bill that would makes it easier for the Bonneville Power Administration to build power plants in Western coal-producing states. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/10.1/download-entire-issue
Outrageous hero of dignified crusade
Within the literature of conservation, which in the past has been full of praises to nature’s beauty, Edward Abbey’s full-blown rage is what distinguishes him from others. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.25/download-entire-issue
Indians wresting for control over their minerals
Indian tribes, given land that a hundred years ago was often considered wasteland, realize that the vast wealth of their coal, oil, gas, and uranium can represent both a threat as well as a blessing, and are taking steps to increase tribal influence over Indian-owned energy resources. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.25/download-entire-issue
American mania for self-sufficiency
Self-sufficiency is an idea that has done more harm than good. On close examination it is flawed at the root. More importantly, it works badly in practice. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.25/download-entire-issue
Yellowcake spilled; clean up slow, disorganized
A highway accident on Colorado’s southeastern plains resulted in a spill of ground-up concentrate of uranium oxide, raising danger of radiation poisoning in the vicinity. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.24/download-entire-issue
Scenic bill to protect Jackson Hole
Wyoming congressmen have introduced legislation that would establish a Jackson Hole Scenic Area, providing $200 million in federal funds to purchase scenic easements on some of the valley’s private lands. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.24/download-entire-issue
Stewart Udall made conservation national policy
Generations to come will look upon the work of Steward Udall — Secretary of the Interior Department under both Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson — as exceptional, a lesson of political survival combined with effective conservation. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.23/download-entire-issue
Oil development threatens forests
The discovery of a potential major oil and gas deposit in the heart of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming is creating a conflict between two highly valued resources: oil and wilderness. Download entire issue to view this article: http://www.hcn.org/issues/9.23/download-entire-issue
