Say you’re a struggling Western freelance writer. In a quest for some dependable cash, you apply to work on trail crew for a summer with the Forest Service — a great way to be in the mountains and make money. You call up the local USFS office and get assurance that yes, you’re qualified, and […]
Stephanie Paige Ogburn
Posted inGoat
Growing our gas
How cool would it be if we could turn wood trimmings, straw, or other common plant products into gasoline? It’s possible — the technology to produce cellulosic ethanol has been proven, but scaling it up commercially hasn’t happened yet, in large part because we haven’t figured out how to create large quantities of the stuff […]
Posted inJanuary 21, 2013: Special issue: Natural resources education
Great Old Broads for Wilderness laugh and learn
The pro-wilderness group teaches elders how to engage in public lands management, while having a great time.
Posted inGoat
Designing for behavior change
Dual flush toilets are, in my opinion, a great water-saving invention. Yet one of my biggest pet peeves is a type of dual flush toilet that I often see in public bathrooms. In this particular design, to use less water, you push the flush handle up; to use more water, you push it down. Yet […]
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A bridge to nowhere?
Early into the new year, researchers measuring methane leaks from natural gas fields in Utah found that far more of the climate-forcing gas was being emitted than they thought (methane is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat). Preliminary results from that research, in the Uinta Basin, show that 9 percent of […]
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Dispersing the toxicity
It’s every coastal community’s nightmare. An off-shore oil rig explodes, a tanker runs aground, and the name of their town — Homer, Alaska, say — becomes synonymous with the latest disaster of our oil-besotted age. When such a disaster does happen, oil spill responders are faced with many choices about how to contain the spill […]
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Money and climate
Ah, money. During one of the biggest shopping times of the year, after spending Thanksgiving morning rolling stacks of coins with the kids, my thoughts turn to it, naturally. Or maybe unnaturally; what was mostly on my mind was the high cost of doing something to slow climate change. Specifically, I was thinking about carbon […]
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The future of campaign spending
Imagine you’re one of the 40,000 people in America with a net worth of over $30 million. That’s enough to have some spare cash to play with. Why not use it to influence politics? Come on. You know you want to. Yet, you’re faced with a problem. According to analyses by the Center for Responsive […]
Posted inArticles
Rantcast: Goodbye, listeners
Hi podcast listeners. Thanks so much for tuning in to the Rants from the Hill podcast for the past 6 months. We recently decided to discontinue our podcasts due to staffing limitations at High Country News. But never fear, you can still read the Rants from the Hill online, at HCN.org, on the first Monday […]
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Whither wilderness?
On a stretch of land along the eastern side of Colorado’s Arkansas River, enormous, sand-colored rocks pile up on each other, looking as if a giant child had picked up a handful and let them dribble out between her fingers. This rock jumble is overlaid with piñon pine, juniper, and spots of ponderosa. It’s land […]
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Endangered razorback sucker discovered in Grand Canyon
On Oct. 9, biologists electrofishing in Grand Canyon National Park caught a razorback sucker — the first one seen in the park in 20 years. The endangered fish, known for its distinctive humpback, huge size (up to three feet long!) and long life (40-plus years!) was once common in the Colorado River and its tributaries. As […]
Posted inOctober 29, 2012: Red State Rising
Redistricting pains in California and other states
Once every 10 years, after each U.S. Census, states must redraw political boundaries to reflect demographic changes, a process called redistricting. Districts must have equal populations and should not dilute minorities’ voting powers by splitting their vote. The process can become highly politicized, with parties jockeying to draw favorable districts and keep incumbents in office. […]
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Utah tar sands project gets key go ahead
One Canadian company’s plan to extract oil from Utah’s tar sands just took a big step forward. In 2005, U.S. Oil Sands, a small Canadian company already active in Alberta, proposed a project to squeeze oil out of tar sands on Utah’s Tavaputs Plateau On Wednesday, the Utah Water Quality Board voted 9-2 to uphold […]
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Is the future of Western water in jeopardy?
Updated 10/22/2012, 12:14 p.m., MDT “Supreme Court decision could lead to ‘water anarchy’ in the West““U.S. on the verge of water anarchy““Utah’s water future in court”“Ruling key to Colorado water future““Upcoming ruling key to New Mexico’s water future“ These headlines, splashed across major Western newspapers in recent weeks, and in the influential website Politico and […]
Posted inOctober 15, 2012: Are you a local?
Finding funk in Western Colorado, sadistic races, corrections
The mornings are getting chilly; local harvests are at their peak. Up in the mountains, the aspens have changed color early and winter is tapping at the door. As the color moved down the mountains, many visitors came with it, taking advantage of this lovely time of year to drop by Paonia. Susan Nunn visited […]
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Fear and loathing in San Juan County
Vandalism and threats play out against wilderness proponents in Utah’s canyonlands.
Posted inArticles
Rantcast: The desert shoe tree
Rants from the Hill are Michael Branch’s monthly musings on life in rural Nevada. They are posted at the beginning of each month at www.hcn.org. You can subscribe to the podcast for free in iTunes, or through Feedburner if you use other podcast readers. Each month’s rant is also available in written form. Musical credits for Rantcast: Bumper sticker sloganeering, licensed under […]
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Where’s the beef?
Ah, the future. It’s so fun to imagine. In 10 years, we could all be driving electric cars. We won’t download or search anymore; we’ll just tell our “wired” house what we want, and those things will appear on various devices, or on our doorsteps. And, if PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has his way, we […]
Posted inSeptember 17, 2012: Pallids in Purgatory
Scientific superheroes
Other researchers investigating new tools and tricks to help suppress invasive cheatgrass: Nancy Shaw, U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise, Idaho Shaw’s investigation into new seed-drilling tools could mean the difference between success and failure for many native seeds. She’s been testing a minimum till drill, which reduces soil disturbance, compaction and erosion. Using it, […]
Posted inSeptember 17, 2012: Pallids in Purgatory
Great Basin scientists unleash new weapons to fight invasive cheatgrass
This guy is lovely!” ecologist Beth Leger exclaims, falling to her knees. A tiny, energetic woman in her mid-30s, Leger hovers, bee-like, over a teensy grass with blue-green blades. It is, she tells me, a “cute” native called Poa secunda. It’s early May, and Leger, graduate student Owen Baughman and I are crouched on Peavine […]