Strange the things that come to you through your kids. A week ago my daughter, Ruby, came home with an eighth-grade social studies assignment on the civil rights movement of the 1960s. “You know,” I told her, “your grandparents were involved with civil rights when I was a kid. Maybe you should talk to them. […]
For many Americans, voting this November will be historic
Posted inGoat
Winning the West
Like much of the country and all of the media, HCN is focused on the upcoming election. One of the ways we’re feeding our obsession is by surfing the web, seeking out new tidbits, poll numbers, and punditry. To help you navigate the political world from the base of our Winning the West page, you […]
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The wolf-go-round
Seven months ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and Oregon off the endangered species list, marking the end of 34 years of protection. In July U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy issued an injunction against killing wolves in the region after conservationists filed suit, saying it was too […]
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BLM steamrolls another protection for public lands
On Oct. 10, the Bureau of Land Management proposed a rule change that will make it harder for the Department of Interior secretaries and Congress to protect public lands through an “emergency withdrawal.” In June, the House Natural Resources Committee used the rule that the BLM is attempting to change when it called for an […]
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ABC censors clean energy ad
Oil companies have bought influence in Washington and used that influence to make life easier for themselves and harder for their competitors. This may be a controversial statement, but it’s not an unfounded one, given the amount of money the oil industry pours into politics and the regularity with which it gets its way in […]
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Endangered species meltdown
The Bush administration just won’t quit trying to weaken the Endangered Species Act. Big rewrites require Congressional approval, so instead they’re quietly revising the regulations that implement the act. In August, the administration proposed letting federal agencies decide for themselves if, say, a new dam or highway would harm any endangered or threatened species, rather […]
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Drill here, drill now: the music video
Did you know that politicians don’t pay for their gas? Well, now you do. You’ll know even more — no, you’ll be a veritable expert in energy policy — after you watch this music video, which Joe Romm of climateprogress.org describes as “the first (and hopefully last) song ever inspired by Newt Gingrich.” Wow. Just […]
Posted inWotr
Animal pharm is coming our way
On Sept. 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its “guidance” for allowing the sale of genetically modified animals as food. Guidance is agency-speak for “the law will look something like this.” With the announcement, a 60-day period for public comment opened. Right now, the only genetically modified animal licensed for sale is the […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
The end of Western welfare?
As Wall Street’s titans of finance crumbled before our eyes in mid-September (coincidentally, this was Bin Laden’s stated goal after 9/11), I remembered the day I interviewed Bill Yellowtail at his ranch, near Wyola, Mont., 15 years ago, and the shocking things he said that afternoon about capitalism in the West. One of my notes […]
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Plum Creek deal — plumb wrong?
Since last spring, Plum Creek Timber Company and the Forest Service have claimed that thousands of miles of old logging roads in western Montana can automatically be turned into driveways for second homes and cabins. Such guaranteed access would make Plum Creek’s 1.2 million acres in the state worth much more to buyers. The industry-friendly […]
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Politics + water = mud
The League of Conservation voters has compiled a whole list of reasons not to vote for John McCain, some of which are nuanced and good. But they didn’t see fit to use any of them in their new anti-McCain ad that just started running in Colorado. Their attack is a lot more basic: McCain wants […]
Posted inWotr
Scoundrels and scandals in the Interior Department
As the last vestiges of laissez-faire capitalism were being lowered into the ground on Wall Street last month, out on the Western edge of the high plains an administrative circus of a similar nature was unraveling. Its center was the Minerals Management Services (MMS) division of the Interior Department, in Lakewood, Colo. On Sept.10, Earl […]
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GOP’s Acorn fixation is downright nutty
The McCain campaign — by now looking for any dirt they can get their hands on — has just released a web ad attacking Obama for his ties to Acorn, the progressive community organizing group. The ad tries to link Acorn to the mortgage crisis and accuses it of trying to steal the election by […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
On the Stegner trail
Wallace Stegner and the American WestPhilip L. Fradkin 323 pages, hardcover: $27.50.Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. Like wanderers returning to the old hometown after a long time away, readers of Philip Fradkin’s new biography of Wallace Stegner will recognize familiar terrain as well as make fresh discoveries. Wallace Stegner and the American West arrives 15 […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
Bear necessities
We wound our way up a rocky cliff-side trail toward Gunsight Pass, which straddles a ragged, 7,000-foot-high ridgeline in the heart of Glacier National Park. Forty mph winds buffeted us, and a severe case of “bearanoia” held us in its grip. The rangers had suggested Gunsight Pass because it offered stunning views and a relatively […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
The great giveaway
Utah BLM swings the door wide for ATVs and energy development
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
The invisible man
Name Ricardo Arriagada Age 30 Occupation Goat herder What herding means, day to day Four hours in the morning and two in the evening, filling water tanks and maintaining and moving the electric fence that keeps the goats corralled. The upside of living alone in a travel trailer on the Bay Area’s exurban fringes “Things […]
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A guidebook we might use
We’ve got a tight U.S. Senate race in Colorado. The incumbent Republican, Wayne Allard, is stepping out after two terms. Competing to replace him are Democrat Mark Udall and Republican Bob Schaffer. Udall’s environmental credentials seem pretty solid, given his voting record in the House, where he has represented Colorado’s second congressional district for the […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
Wildlife wars
They’ve loped to the southern edge of Wyoming’s Wind River Range, and straggled into northwestern Colorado. They’ve filled Montana forests near Missoula, Helena and Bozeman. They’ve crossed the Idaho Panhandle, padding into north-central Washington and eastern Oregon. And despite disease outbreaks and being shot by the feds for devouring the occasional cow, every year since […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
Forget Wall Street, focus on the real issues
We are approaching a crisis that stems in part from irresponsible behavior and is aggravated by our insatiable consumer culture. A lack of government oversight has let the problem grow to catastrophic levels. Now it could devastate entire economies and societies. No, I’m not talking about Wall Street. I’m talking about the crisis we seem […]