The following comments were posted in response to Kimberly Hirai’s blog, “Illegal trailblazing as a negotiation tool?” “Flow trails” for mountain biking don’t necessarily cost more to build than hiking trails. But sustainable trails for any user group do cost more than trails cut randomly through the woods. One reason is land managers often bring […]
Letter to the editor
Posted inSeptember 19, 2011: Redemption
‘The most sacred form of welfare’
Nevada has two large bodies of natural water within its borders: Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake (HCN, 8/8/11). The state of Nevada has made the choice to sacrifice Walker Lake by over-allocating the upstream water rights to a few upstream communities. As your article stated, irrigation brought glorious benefits, from onions to potatoes, alfalfa and […]
Posted inSeptember 19, 2011: Redemption
Where’s the good news?
While I was interested in the article, “Looking for Balance in Navajoland,” and am well aware that controversy and upset sell better than routine good performance, I wonder if you could manage at least a couple of stories on some of the success stories in Indian Country (HCN, 8/22/11). There must be many, but one […]
Posted inSeptember 5, 2011: For the love of hummers
We’re listening
Thank you for digging a little deeper than breaking environmental news, and adding some social aspect that ties it all together. HCN has gotten better with age. Please do not be so negative. I would appreciate balanced articles with happy endings. If all news is sad, I’ll stop reading it. Keep up the bad news! […]
Posted inAugust 22, 2011: Looking for Balance in Navajoland
A bad bargain
Your article “Fumigant fight” points out that, “without an effective replacement (for methyl bromide), growers could face lower yields, costing an estimated $100 million per year” (HCN, 7/25/11). However, the purchase and application of methyl iodide is not free. Farmers are interested in net profitability, not merely revenues. Perhaps, the real negative impact on pre-tax […]
Posted inAugust 22, 2011: Looking for Balance in Navajoland
A plunderer is a plunderer
Kudos to Jonathan Thompson for bringing attention to the growing plunder of Western resources by multinational corporations (HCN, 7/25/11). Not only are rare minerals being extracted at a record rate, more importantly, irreplaceable wilderness areas are being devastated in the process. And what about those American corporations that shamelessly violate and destroy our precious public […]
Posted inAugust 22, 2011: Looking for Balance in Navajoland
Cleaner, shmeaner
First, I commend HCN on the excellent article, “The Global West,” which skillfully presents how energy markets are affecting resource extraction in the West (HCN, 7/25/11). I’m going to get as many of my friends and family members to read it as I can. That said, it drove me nuts to read this in one […]
Posted inAugust 22, 2011: Looking for Balance in Navajoland
Give us your bears and your energy
Chinese demand is also bad news for wildlife (HCN, 7/25/11). In Africa, thousands of Chinese are building railroads, highways and other projects while illegally exporting ivory. Elephants are being butchered in the thousands to meet this demand. In Russia, the Chinese will pay $50,000 for one dead, rare Siberian tiger. Apparently, they value tiger parts […]
Posted inAugust 22, 2011: Looking for Balance in Navajoland
In praise of prose
“The Global West” was well researched and beautifully written (HCN, 7/25/11). I hope the Atlantic and New Yorker crowd took notice, as the last three paragraphs of Thompson’s article could easily have qualified for their precious space. Also, thanks to the researchers who pulled together the astonishing inventory of extra-national participants in the exploitation of […]
Posted inAugust 22, 2011: Looking for Balance in Navajoland
Not dead yet
“The timber industry, battered by environmental regulations and unfavorable economics, was wheezing a death rattle: In the two decades after the hippies arrived, logging in the county declined by 60 percent.” This is a bit of a pet peeve, I admit, but the timber industry in Humboldt county is not “dead.” It still contributes around […]
Posted inAugust 8, 2011: Ganjanomics
The global is local
Thank you for publishing Jonathan Thompson’s article about international economic influences on the American West’s natural resources (HCN, 7/25/11). A recent drive to Victor, Colo., was a perfect illustration of the disparity between international profits and marginal local benefits. With the value of gold rising in the face of unstable national currencies, the town of […]
Posted inAugust 8, 2011: Ganjanomics
A border crosser does not an immigrant make
I take exception to the use of the word “immigrant” by HCN or Utah (HCN, 6/27/11). As one knowledgeable about Mormon values, I pondered what had come over the Beehive State, but then I remembered Mormons are, if nothing else, pro-business. I also pondered presidential and media hypocrisy as another state “supersedes” federal jurisdiction on […]
Posted inAugust 8, 2011: Ganjanomics
‘Grab the bucks, gimme the jobs’
Forgive me if I am wrong in thinking it incongruous that pretty much the same people who are very cranked up about leaving our children and grandchildren with trillions of dollars in debt don’t seem to care about leaving them with environmental catastrophes related to fracking and other shortsighted “grab the bucks now, give me […]
Posted inAugust 8, 2011: Ganjanomics
No diving allowed
The idea that fertilizing streams — deliberately or inadvertently — is beneficial needs a complete evaluation (HCN, 6/27/11). The stream section immediately below the outfall from a sewage treatment plant may be more productive, but that can contribute to low dissolved oxygen. This means that it is less suitable for spawning; developing eggs and fry […]
Posted inJuly 25, 2011: The Global West
Where’s the science?
High Country News has a well-deserved reputation for reporting that explores the complexities and subtleties of environmental issues. “Wolf whiplash” was a jarring contrast that blamed repeated legal action by environmental groups for recent legislation that removed wolves in five states from the endangered species list (HCN, 5/30/11). As the story suggests, this legislation opens […]
Posted inJuly 25, 2011: The Global West
Fancy a drink?
Thank you for publishing Abrahm Lustgarten’s important article about Louis Meeks and his damaged water well (HCN, 6/27/11). Mr. Meeks is clearly a hero in the 21st century American West. EnCana Corporation once prided itself on utilizing “best practices” in the production of gas wells. So I was encouraged when EnCana spokesman Randy Teeuwen spoke […]
Posted inJuly 25, 2011: The Global West
Living in a world of hurt
I’ve been aware of fracking for many years (HCN, 6/27/11). But until the relatively recent controversy over its effect on well water in Pavillion, Wyo., I was less informed than I should have been. Development of any energy source has consequences. Rampant development of fossil fuels puts regulators way behind in preventing environmental catastrophes, and […]
Posted inJuly 25, 2011: The Global West
Prove it already
The EPA cannot prove communication between oil and gas wells and potable water sources (HCN, 6/27/11). I discussed your fracking story with a friend who is a petroleum chemical engineer, and he believes only one well in a thousand may have communication. He believes poor cement jobs on the casing are more the culprit than […]
Posted inJuly 25, 2011: The Global West
Speaking truth to the Forest Service
Thanks for reporting on Jim Smith, who courageously pursued and won his 2010 court case against the Coconino National Forest for “parking and hiking” without paying fees (HCN, 6/27/11). I respectfully disagree with labeling him a “fee-dodger,” though, as the online version of your story did. Jim is a fee truth-teller! The Federal Lands Recreation […]
Posted inJune 27, 2011: Hydrofracked?
A long and studied road
By focusing on the controversy of the Clinton, Bush and Obama years, Hal Herring allows us to forget that Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act in ’73 (HCN, 5/30/11). The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Team worked through Jimmy Carter’s term. Ronald Reagan was in office when the Recovery Plan was signed. George H.W. […]