The recent Snowdown festival in my town of Durango, Colo., celebrated with silly costumes, a parade, risque humor and even some events centered on snow. People threw themselves down the slopes on everything from skis and snowboards to kayaks, bicycles and even unicycles. The enthusiastic diversity shows how ski areas have evolved, and it also […]
Kerry blue and snow white: Ski counties vote Democratic
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
California Poem
California Poem Eleni Sikelianos 200 pages, paperback, $16. Coffee House Press, 2004. “The dental imprint of California / is gravelly, epileptic, spasm / of a sea-born bungled broken Coastal Range of ridges & spurs with localized names …” writes California native Eleni Sikelianos in her new book full of poems, funky photos and collages, and […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Mountain Harmonies
Mountain Harmonies Howard L. Smith 192 pages, hardcover, $23.95. University of New Mexico Press, 2004. In Mountain Harmonies, Howard Smith offers more than musings on environmental philosophy: He crafts a useful guidebook of sorts that takes readers from Glacier National Park to New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness. Whether you travel a thousand miles or two blocks […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
The Pine Island Paradox
The Pine Island Paradox Kathleen Dean Moore 251 pages, hardcover, $20. Milkweed Editions, 2004. Philosopher Kathleen Dean Moore’s latest book is like a basket of seashells and pinecones: Each essay is a precise, self-contained bit of truth. Her central theme, that the well-being of humans cannot be separated from that of the rest of the […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Forcing nomads to farm — the Utes’ sad story
In “The Utes Must Go!” Peter R. Decker explores how fear-mongering politicians and settlers suppressed the Ute bands in the 1800s
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Everyday objects and extraordinary journeys
The word “relic” conjures up a host of connotations, from human remains to a historic souvenir. It can denote a custom from the past, the remnants of an ancient language, or a fragment of a whole. It can represent the last of a dying species, or an indefatigable survivor. > —Jack Nisbet Northwestern writer Jack […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Cleanup effort is no ‘flop’
HCN reported that “the first major test of the stricter mining trust fund standards established during the Clinton administration has been a flop” (HCN, 12/20/04: Followup). This is in reference to a recent BLM decision relating to the Phoenix Mine project near Battle Mountain, Nev. In fact, Newmont is being held to the highest standard […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Ranchers and enviros unite!
A comment on Suzanne Stone’s thought that “wolves are a drop in the bucket” as far as impact on livestock (HCN, 12/6/04: Dear friends): The Soulen Ranch of western Idaho lost 322 sheep to wolves during the summer of 2004. The ranching and environmental community should not be at odds with each other. Ranchers do […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Enviros are not responsible for Nevada wilderness deal
Felice Pace’s and Janine Blaeloch’s letters give an entirely false impression of the conservation movement in Nevada (HCN, 12/20/04). The Lincoln County Bill was a public-lands bill that had the support of the five legislators from Nevada. It would have passed, whether or not any wilderness was included in the bill. The bill was not […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Hispanic support for Prop 200 wasn’t a surprise
Your small mention of Proposition 200 in Arizona was misleading (HCN, 11/22/04: Racetrack). Just to set the record straight, the proposition only covers state welfare benefits under our Title 46 and does not apply to federally mandated public benefits such as schooling or emergency health care. And since 4,000 illegal immigrants a day cross just […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Not so proud to be an American
The essay “American — and proud of it” by Geneen Haugen suggested that “the stunning fact that Americans have preserved habitat at all is evidence of an emerging ecological vision” (HCN, 11/8/04: American — and proud of it). The optimist in me would like to agree. However, setting aside large areas of natural environment means […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Enough is enough!
Opening up wilderness areas, even “de facto” wilderness areas, to mountain bike use will set a bad precedent for the future of wilderness management in this country (HCN, 11/22/04: Racetrack). Allowing mountain bike use defies the basic principles of the 1964 Wilderness Act. The comment made by Gary Sprung that “cycling in the backcountry is […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Los Angeles dumps coal deal
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn has directed the city’s Department of Water and Power to pull out of a deal to expand a coal-fired power plant in Delta, Utah. The funds earmarked for the project — which would have provided 2 percent of the city’s power — will instead be used to meet the mayor’s […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Locals flush proposed kitty litter mine
A recent court ruling could give local communities more control over mining projects on federal land. On Dec. 30, a Nevada district court judge ruled that Washoe County has the authority to deny a company’s proposal to mine clay for cat litter near the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. In 1999, the Chicago-based Oil-Dri Corporation announced plans […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Wildlife refuge may still be radioactive
Scientists may have discovered a radioactive “hot spot” at a future wildlife refuge surrounding the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant. The plant, northwest of Denver, produced plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons for more than 30 years. The U.S. Department of Energy and Kaiser-Hill, the company contracted to clean up the site, plan to dispose […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
California’s farmers ditch dirty diesel pumps
California’s two biggest utility companies want to help farmers ditch their polluting diesel pumps to comply with air-quality crackdowns. In the process, the companies stand to gain thousands of new customers. In November, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison submitted a proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission — which authorizes all […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Klamath farmers face a new threat
In 2001, farmers in the Klamath Basin marched against the federal government when it withheld irrigation water to protect endangered salmon and suckers (HCN, 8/13/01: No refuge in the Klamath Basin). But ultimately the fish may not be to blame if the crops in this arid landscape dry up. In January, the power company PacifiCorp […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Follow-up
Employees at New Mexico’s nuclear weapons lab may soon have new bosses. After Los Alamos National Laboratory suffered repeated financial and security scandals, outgoing U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced that the lab’s contract, held by the University of California since 1943, was up for grabs (HCN, 11/24/03: New Mexico goes head-to-head with […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Heard around the West
THE WEST Hunting is coming to the Internet. A Texas entrepreneur plans to offer online hunting that isn’t virtual — it will have real impact. John Underwood, an auto body estimator, wants to import exotic animals, including wild pigs, Barbary sheep and Indian blackbuck antelopes, to his 330-acre ranch. There, he’ll set up Web cams […]
Posted inFebruary 7, 2005: The Asphalt Graveyard
Prowling the back spaces of the West
The drive from Salt Lake City to the Nevada border feels like a ride in a not-too-seaworthy sailboat. Long-haul rigs blast past me, leaving my rickety little four-door swaying in their wakes. The flat, briny waters of the Great Salt Lake reach south toward the highway, threatening to rise up and reclaim their ancient territory. […]