I was disappointed to read the opening statement in “Doubling density near Durango” (HCN, 11/14/05: Doubling density near Durango). As chair of the board of county commissioners who signed memoranda of understanding with BP and with Samson Resources, I can guarantee you that we did not sign “deals allowing two energy companies to double the […]
County worked hard to control drilling impact
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Light rail can’t solve growth problems
I was one of those first eager riders on the new light-rail system in Salt Lake City in December of 1999 (HCN, 11/14/05: Back on track). After years of rampant population growth in the Salt Lake Valley, I find that Salt Lake City today has more traffic and congestion, the air is way more polluted, […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Homegrown protectionism
Thank you for your excellent story, “The Public Land’s Big Cash Crop” (HCN, 10/31/05: The Public Lands’ Big Cash Crop). As a recent transplant to Northern California, I’ve had a rapid education on the cultural impacts of this taboo plant. The argument that if only cannabis were legalized the problem would disappear was given short […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Skeletons in the Klamath Basin’s closets
Rebecca Clarren’s article on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath River Basin Water Bank fails to mention that over the past five years, $50 million has been given to farmers in the Basin to reduce their water use through improved irrigation efficiency (HCN, 10/17/05: ‘Water bank’ drags river basin deeper into debt). Where is the water […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Don’t blame the Park Service
Michelle Nijhuis’s article “The Ghosts of Yosemite” seems to be little more than a rant against the National Park Service (HCN, 10/17/05: The Ghosts of Yosemite). Rather than dwelling on the threat that global warming poses to native wildlife, Nijhuis instead changes the focus to an unfair criticism of an agency that is hardly responsible […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
‘Green’ seal of approval considered for national forests
The Forest Service is considering “green” certification for timber produced on the national forests. And though environmental groups have long touted such certification as a way to improve the management of privately owned forests, they have misgivings about using it for the public lands. Green certification for lumber is something like organic certification for food; […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
BLM boosts winter drilling
The mule deer herd that winters on the mesa east of Pinedale has suffered a 46 percent population decline since 2002, despite a Bureau of Land Management policy that banned most natural gas drilling in the area in wintertime. Now, the BLM wants to allow several more companies to drill throughout the winter — and […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Sheepherders flock to better-paying jobs
Western ranchers have long relied on foreign workers to tend sheep on the open range. But increasingly, sheepherders are literally walking away from their flocks — and their work visas — in pursuit of more lucrative jobs. The work sheepherders do is hard, the lifestyle is austere, and the pay is low — about $800 […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
The Latest Bounce
“House Republican Caucus seeks fun-loving individuals to share warm winter evening.” That invitation appeared in a recent e-mail that Utah House Majority Leader Jeff Alexander sent to legislators and lobbyists. House Republican leaders endorsed the “speed dating” idea as a fund-raiser. On Jan. 5, lobbyists who’ve donated to political action committees will each get a […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Heard around the West
COLORADO A deliciously funny film called The Lost People of Mountain Village wowed audiences at Telluride’s Mountainfilm festival and other venues around western Colorado. In deadpan style, the 15-minute pseudo-documentary explores what happened to the overlords who once lived above high-altitude Telluride. The joke for locals: The “town” of Mountain Village always feels abandoned by […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Vine Deloria Jr.: Writer, scholar and inspired trickster
The modern tribal sovereignty movement has had no single great inspirational leader, no Martin Luther King Jr., no César Chávez. After all, Indian country contains more than 500 separate and independent peoples, each with its own history, traditions, and officials. Yet if one person may be singled out, it is Vine Deloria Jr. A Standing […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Alvin Josephy: A gentle, graceful advocate for sovereignty
In a time of significant change for the Nez Perce people of north-central Idaho, a great friend and advocate has left us. The death of historian Alvin M. Josephy at age 90 on Oct. 16 touches our hearts and calls us to reflect on the importance of his life. I was a child when my […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Wheelchairs and wilderness can coexist
Life can change dramatically, in the blink of an eye. Seven years ago, I went backcountry skiing in the Hoover Wilderness near Yosemite. I missed a turn on a steep icy slope and fell into a rocky gully. In that ugly tumble, I crushed my spinal cord. Suddenly, I was a paraplegic. Every able-bodied person […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Forget idealism
Renewable energy will save consumers money
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Westerners slowly adapt to high prices
But what will it take to really make a change?
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Tapping into energy’s fringe
As companies drill for ‘unconventional’ natural gas, environmental impacts mount
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Congress bets on oil shale
But on the ground in the West, big companies are hedging
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Healing the border with words
Denise Chávez believes that art can — and should — make a difference in everyday lives. “Why is the arts community so mute?” asks Chávez. “On the one hand, it’s a terrible time — people are so fearful, afraid of each other, afraid of people who are different, afraid to learn something new. But it’s […]
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
Flood insurance crimps Western waterways
Federal program fosters development, damages rivers and wetlands
Posted inDecember 12, 2005: The Final Energy Frontier
A bullet for the bearer of bad news
Biologists support salmon protection, and Congress yanks their funding