UFOs Over Galisteo and Other Stories of New Mexico’s History Robert J. Tórrez, 160 pages, softcover $16.95. University of New Mexico Press, 2004. A retired state historian, Tórrez creates vivid vignettes of New Mexico’s past. He enlivens his accounts of arranged marriages, water disputes and stagecoaches with historical photos and documents. The book also contains […]
Communities
Posted inMarch 21, 2005: An Empire Built on Sand
A look at the West, in the funhouse mirror
Life was much simpler when I viewed the battle to “save” the West through a black-and-white lens. As a young environmentalist, it was easier for me to condemn my adversaries’ land ethics and beliefs when I was unwilling to honestly scrutinize my own. And it was easier to attack my adversaries when I didn’t know […]
Posted inMarch 21, 2005: An Empire Built on Sand
Heard around the West
COLORADO Whatever else you think about Aspen — wondering exactly when it ceased to be the rough mining town it once was, or marveling at the sight of men wearing fur coats so long they look like bears walking — there was always the presence of writer Hunter S. Thompson in nearby Woody Creek to […]
Posted inWotr
Spring
My friends warn me of the perils of moving to the mountains outside Boise, Idaho, in December, just as winter rolls into the Northwest. “You’ll get depressed,” they say. “And don’t expect to see us until spring.” My friends are city folk. The worst they can imagine is snow piling in the drive and power […]
Posted inMarch 7, 2005: Anarchy in the Gas Fields
Forty-four years of poetry from the Land of Enchantment
I’m engaged to New Mexico. I’ve been engaged for eighteen years. I’ve worn its ring of rainbow set with a mica shard. I’ve given my dowry already, my skin texture, my hair moisture. I’ve given New Mexico my back-East manners, my eyesight, The arches of my feet. New Mexico’s a difficult fiancé. —excerpt from “Something […]
Posted inWotr
Those who choose risk should bear the cost
Americans are not generally regarded as fatalistic. Christianity, the prevalent religion in America, teaches that individuals possess free will and are therefore responsible for their actions. The nation was founded and shaped by immigrants intent on building new lives in which they — not oppressive governments, intolerant clerics or class distinctions — would determine their […]
Posted inMarch 7, 2005: Anarchy in the Gas Fields
Western Voices: 125 years of Colorado Writing
Western Voices: 125 years of Colorado Writing Edited by Steve Grinstead and Ben Fogelberg 396 pages, softcover $19.95. Fulcrum Press, 2004. Editors from the Colorado Historical Society chose the essays in this diverse collection, and they chose well. There’s Muriel Sibell Wolle describing the intense two-year lifespan of a mining town too high to endure […]
Posted inWotr
The secret of Wyoming winters is the snow-eating chinook
I’m often asked by relatives and friends back East how I stand the winters in northwestern Wyoming. I put on a stoic facade and tell them: It’s tough, but we Cody folks can suck it up. What I don’t mention is that an average of 300 days of sunshine annually isn’t hard to take, nor […]
Posted inMarch 7, 2005: Anarchy in the Gas Fields
The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror
The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror David W. Orr, 172 pages, hardcover $20. Island Press, 2004. David Orr, professor of environmental studies and politics at Oberlin College, explains how our centralized, industrialized, corporate way of life makes us more vulnerable to acts of terrorism. But he offers a […]
Posted inMarch 7, 2005: Anarchy in the Gas Fields
Heard around the West
CALIFORNIA Every time you turn around, the members of some worthy organization are shedding their clothes to pose nude for a calendar. The fun is in the photography, because while the librarians or firefighters may be naked, they are always strategically hidden behind some fire hose, book or fence. In Carmel, Calif., a group called […]
Posted inMarch 7, 2005: Anarchy in the Gas Fields
Forest Service employees and activist face racketeering charges
Developers’ attempt to silence critics of condo project could make history
Posted inFebruary 21, 2005: Have Environmentalists Failed the West?
From folk singer to fierce activist — the life of Katie Lee
Among desert rats and river lovers, folk singer and activist Katie Lee is legendary. A Hollywood actress in her youth, Lee started running Southwestern rivers in her 30s and became an outspoken defender of her beloved Colorado River. She fought the damming of Glen Canyon, and celebrated its beauty and mourned its loss in All […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 2005: Have Environmentalists Failed the West?
The Basket Maker
The Basket Maker Kate Niles 224 pages, hardcover $22.95.BR> GreyCore Press, 2004. This first novel by a college writing instructor in Durango, Colo., tells a searing story of incest and compassion from five perspectives, including the ghost of the Ute Chief Ouray. Surprisingly, the device works, and we are gripped. This article appeared in the […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 2005: Have Environmentalists Failed the West?
Of Chiles, Cacti, and Fighting Cocks: Notes on the American West
Of Chiles, Cacti, and Fighting Cocks: Notes on the American West Frederick Turner 297 pages, softcover $16.95 Fulcrum Press, 2004 First published in 1990, this book of deft essays is back in print and as engaging as ever; it even includes some new work. Whether he’s describing cock fights, the artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s solitary ways […]
Posted inWotr
Gay people seem to threaten more people than Osama
Lately, I’ve been feeling like I need to apologize to every gay person I know. I didn’t vote that way, I want to tell them, and I’m not obsessed by your presence. I can’t fathom all this horse-pucky about gay lifestyles. I have no idea how so many voters, letter-writers and politicians can exist in […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 2005: Have Environmentalists Failed the West?
Resort homes threaten scenic Mono Lake
Developers around California watch to see if a county can trump federal preservation rules
Posted inFebruary 21, 2005: Have Environmentalists Failed the West?
Nun calls the faithful to an ‘ecological ministry’
NAME Joan Brown VOCATION Head of the Ecological Ministry of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Order of St. Francis AGE 51 HOME BASE Albuquerque, New Mexico MOST NOTED FOR Taking on social and environmental issues with a Catholic sensibility INSPIRED BY Catholic priest and philosopher Thomas Berry, who said, “If we lose the grandeur of […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 2005: Have Environmentalists Failed the West?
Buildup to disaster: A Libby timeline
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Where were the environmentalists when Libby needed them most?“ ASBESTOS 1916 — In an old mine shaft about seven miles from Libby, prospector Edgar Alley notices his candle causing a strange rock to expand; he’s discovered veins of vermiculite, which contains tremolite asbestos. 1939 […]
Posted inFebruary 21, 2005: Have Environmentalists Failed the West?
Heard around the West
COLORADO Avalanches were so frequent this winter in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado that for days the town of Silverton and its winter population of 400 were cut off. In early January, two miles of the highway leading to the town became “entombed” by snow, reports the Denver Post, as 62 avalanches pummeled […]
Posted inWotr
Bring on those ‘redneck hippies’
There’s a lot of buzz these days about a “creative class,” the discovery of Richard Florida, a professor of economic development at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Florida’s ideas are laid out in one of those books more discussed than read: The Rise of the Creative Class and How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and […]