Reader Brandt Mannchen takes issue with rainwater harvesting as presented in a recent article (“Letters,” HCN, 5/25/15; “Tucson’s rain-catching revolution” HCN, 4/27/15)). He deplores local Tucson water expert Brent Cluff’s belief that “water harvesting could support unlimited growth.” I know of Brent Cluff but have never heard of and certainly do not share this opinion. […]
Shallow understanding
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Remembering ‘the creek’
“The Wetland Wars” struck a chord with me. I went to Loyola Marymount University from 1960 to 1963. The campus was above and just to the east of Ballona Creek. In that era, it was known as “the creek.” After a long day, I often walked around the area to capture some of the tranquility […]
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
New perspective from Edward Abbey on the river
Review of ‘The Hidden Canyon: A River Journey’ by John Blaustein
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Senate approves major reform of the chemical safety law
The biggest bipartisan environmental legislation to pass the Senate in decades.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Lust for fungi
A writer has a holy experience while mushroom hunting in southern Oregon.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Latest: Toxic fumes inhalation added to list of oil & gas worker dangers
Center for Disease Control investigates recent deaths.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Latest: New air quality regulation for oil and gas operators
Wyoming will require companies to retrofit equipment
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
High-flyin’ hypocrisy
In her May 11 “Writers on the Range,” Kathleen Dean Moore laments the view of the North Dakota oilfields at night from her jetliner window at 31,000 feet. And, admittedly, vistas with drilling rigs, pumpjacks and gas flares leave something to be desired, compared with vast sweeps of virgin prairie. The excellent article on Theodore […]
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Heart cracked wide open
Review of ‘Tom Connor’s Gift’ by David Allan Cates.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Grave dangers and satisfying ends
Review of ‘Crow Fair’ by Thomas McGuane.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Genetic research lays foundation for bold conservation strategies
To save the greatest number of species, should we focus on the most common?
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Citizen pseudoscience
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi’s legislation to mandate use of local, county, state and tribal data in Endangered Species Act decisions (“Sagebrush bureaucracy,” HCN, 5/11/15) sounds like a reasonable idea, citizen science at its very grassroots. The more information that’s included, the better the decision, right? The devil, of course, is in the details. I have […]
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Western cities ranked by most polluted air
Los Angeles and Fresno are worst, Prescott and Bellingham best.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Can leasing irrigation water keep Colorado farms alive?
Farmers try to stop “buy and dry” by pooling water rights to supply growing cities.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Big cat cruelty in Utah and the first recorded California condor in New Mexico
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
A bull trout reintroduction in Oregon proves what’s possible
The ambitious effort brings a threatened predator back to the Clackamas watershed.
Posted inArticles
Focusing in on arthropods of the West
Up-close portraits of jumping spiders, beetles, Mormon crickets and other creepy-crawlies essential to our ecosystems.
Posted inArticles
Scarcity and survival reign in ‘The Water Knife’
A conversation with Paolo Bacigalupi about climate fiction, the power of water and his new novel.
Posted inArticles
The fight for dirty water
On May 27, the Obama administration published a rule that restores the Clean Water Act’s intent and most of its teeth. Both had been extracted by the previous administration. This rule comes after meticulous vetting by lawyers, scientists and interested parties. Eighty-seven percent of the 1 million public comments were in favor of it. Nonetheless, […]