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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Get used to the new normal
There’s fine dust in the tire ruts now Along the old feed road They’re workin’ on a six year drought Just so you know -James McMurtry, “Six Year Drought” If it seems like there’s less snow on the ground than there used to be, it’s not your imagination. This year, the folks at the Natural […]
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FDA ruling on GMO salmon worries Alaska fishermen
On January 2, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game released its annual fisheries forecast for the Copper River region, famous for its prolific runs of succulent salmon. The forecast, awaited each year by fisherman living in the region’s port towns, makes predictions based on the previous years’ harvest, weather patterns, and a variety of […]
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Reorganization or regression?
The New York Times made news last week when InsideClimate News reported it was dismantling its nine-person environmental news team. The reporters and editors on the environment desk, which has been around since 2009 and has its own section heading on the Times’ website, will not be laid off, but shuffled to other areas of […]
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Too much, or not enough?
With shale oil deposits bigger than the Bakken sitting beneath its fertile soil—and oil companies that are eager to get their hands on it—Central California is poised to become the site of the country’s newest energy boom. Last month, the state auctioned off 18,000 acres of leases in southern Monterey County. A week later, California’s […]
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Native women fail to find justice
Updated 11:28 a.m. Jan 11, 2013 In 2005, two Native American women in Oklahoma were kidnapped, blindfolded, and raped by three non-native men. Because they were blindfolded, they didn’t know if they were assaulted on state, federal, or tribal land. And, due to a tragic gap in the justice system, the location of the crime […]
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BLM okays controversial Nevada water pipeline
Maybe the Bureau of Land Management thought they could dodge two decades of Nevada water controversy by releasing a crucial decision just two days after Christmas. Last week’s approval of a water pipeline “right of way” puts the Southern Nevada Water Authority — who hailed the decision as a “milestone” — one step closer to […]
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The climate conversation
You are a High Country News reader, and thus, unlikely to be a subscriber to People magazine. But try as you might to stay above the pop culture fray, you’ve probably heard by now: Princess Kate is pregnant. She craves lavender shortbread. She is not, it turns out, too thin to be pregnant, though the […]
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There ain’t no app for that
It feels weird to write about this in a blog — a purely digital format. Hell, the fact that I’m typing this on a computer makes me feel like a full-on techno-weenie. That’s because the subject of this little article, a guy named Dean Coombs, puts out a newspaper every week without the benefit of […]
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A royal(ty) mess
If a U.S. company sells coal overseas, should it pay royalties based on the price of that coal if it was sold domestically, or on the actual price it is sold for overseas? Mining companies have been paying royalties based on the first price, that of domestically-sold coal. That’s never been much of an issue, […]
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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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The wild and not so gun-loving West
On many a summer evening in the small, former mining town of Silverton, Colo., the staccato sound of gunshots echoes through the otherwise quiet streets. Follow the shots and you’ll come across a cast of stereotypical Old West characters riddling one another with bullets, as folks no doubt did once upon a time in these […]
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2012 in numbers
Dear Readers: I have grim and terrible news to share with you. I was taking a look at my trusty wall calendar, the one put out by local electric coop, to see what kind of photo of a lineman playing with high voltage lines was on the next page, when I noticed there was no […]
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Boom, bust, yawn
There’s nothing new about a natural resource boom and its ugly twin, the bust. When reporting on how these economic hurricanes blow through communities, writers tend to tell similar narratives. First, there’s the sepia-toned photo of what the place used to look like, maybe a quote or two from some old-timer at the local diner […]
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What’s the matter with New Mexico
The silence here is as big as the sky. It’s early December, and I’ve pulled to the side of the road, next to the shell of an old service station, its adobe walls well on their way to returning from whence they came. I listen to nothingness, and look around for signs of population in […]
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‘Twas The Night Before Christmas’ Environmental Impact Statement
Executive Summary: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security proposes to allow an action described in the poem Twas The Night Before Christmas. Excerpting some quotes from the poem, the action would be “a miniature sleigh … full of toys” hooked to “eight tiny reindeer” capable of flight, being driven through the sky over the U.S. […]
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Predator control ain’t easy
I recently returned from a wolf hunt. The trip was part of my research for an upcoming story on how wolves, once endangered, are now being managed in the Rocky Mountains. Our experience of managing predators in the West goes far beyond wolves, however. There’s plenty circulating in the news on this topic right now; […]
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The future of our forests
I recently got an email from a reader who was considering moving to Flagstaff. With its excellent bike trails, university, and a populace full of outdoor nuts, it sounded like a pretty nice spot. So he paid a visit, and while there, sought out the answer to a big question: “I needed to know when 100 […]
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Protecting the Piceance
The dirt roads cutting across the Piceance Basin, a lucrative oil and gas reserve in northwestern Colorado, spread like veins, running through patches of green shrubs and tracing the tops of hard ridgelines. Some lead to active drill sites, with metal rigs thrusting skyward. Others end at patches of brown earth that show signs of […]
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The End is nigh (or at least it’s really dry)
This won’t be news to most of you fair readers, but just in case you’ve been paying attention to real problems and have missed it: The End is nigh! That’s right, the world’s end is just weeks away. After all, what else could it mean that the Mayan calendar ends on that day? Nothing, except […]