Cars are a deadly weapon and drivers need to take care.
Colorado
Posted inArticles
War of the words
New oil and gas ‘codebook’ aims to help the public muddle through the fracking debate
Posted inArticles
Manmade quakes shake the Southwest
Tremors in Colorado and New Mexico linked to coalbed methane extraction.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2014: Lost in the Woods
When is lightning likely?
The National Weather Service’s new lightning potential index.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2014: Lost in the Woods
Zen and the art of wildflower science
In the Rocky Mountains, a long-term study yields surprises.
Posted inArticles
Rural cops get militarized
Pentagon gives guns, armored vehicles and battlefield gear to rural Western counties.
Posted inAugust 18, 2014: Alaska's Uncertain Food Future
A new wildfire protection approach in Colorado
Homeowners take on the costs of fire mitigation — with lots of help.
Posted inAugust 18, 2014: Alaska's Uncertain Food Future
Climate canary
Greenhouse gases are changing the way we talk about coal.
Posted inAugust 18, 2014: Alaska's Uncertain Food Future
Jared Polis abandons anti-fracking initiatives
A Democratic family feud takes a surprising turn in Colorado.
Posted inGoat
Recreational deaths soar this summer
Grand Canyon and Colorado rivers have record year for deaths.
Posted inAugust 4, 2014: Idaho's Sewer System
The Tea Party loses one in Colorado
John Pennington lost his primary election bid for sheriff of Mesa County, here in western Colorado, last month. I don’t know why he lost to Steve King, a former Republican state legislator who then canceled his own campaign due to a scandal, leaving the general election race wide-open for several new candidates. But I do […]
Posted inGoat
Colorado water users gird for first statewide plan
Last year, 14 years into a regional drought, forecasts predicted that as many as 2.5 million Coloradans could be without sufficient water supplies by 2050. And yet the state still had no official plan to deal with its looming water crisis. In response to the troubling situation, Governor Hickenlooper issued an executive order: Colorado needed […]
Posted inJuly 21, 2014: On the Wild Edge
Gear companies go local
A new crop of manufacturers try to succeed without selling out.
Posted inGoat
On the Wilderness Act’s 50th, a backpack into the Weminuche
Author ponders Wilderness Act on its 50th birthday.
Posted inJuly 21, 2014: On the Wild Edge
An artist’s road to redemption
The PainterPeter Heller288 pages, hardcover:$24.95.Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. If it’s possible to paint in words alone, to create a wildly colorful story of grief in sentences layered like one of van Gogh’s swirling night scenes, Colorado author Peter Heller accomplishes it in his second novel, The Painter, narrated by artist Jim Stegner. A fly fisherman […]
Posted inGoat
Want a walkable community? Start with the main drag
At first glance, I suppose nothing appears to be amiss with the scene in this photograph. It’s Main Ave., the primary business and tourist district of Durango, Colorado. But it could be any number of mid-sized Western towns. The town has done an admirable job retaining its historic integrity and aesthetics of the architecture and […]
Posted inJune 23, 2014: River of No Return
Hooligans etch on a petroglyph, a cow breaks a natural gas line and a new website helps ranchers navigate drought.
NORTH DAKOTAEveryone knows that ravens can manipulate sticks as tools, and that squawking magpies enjoy teasing dogs and cats, but who knew that cows – with their bodies alone – could make pipes spill natural gas? In Bismarck, North Dakota, one cow apparently did just that, simply by trying to satisfy an itch or maybe […]