Editor’s note: David Zetland, a Western water economist, offers an insider’s perspective into water politics and economics. We will be cross-posting occasional posts and content from his blog, Aguanomics, here on the Range. [I guess that Rachel Carson’s work is not yet done…] JD insisted that I watch this documentary about hydraulic fracturing for natural […]
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Is high speed rail becoming more viable in the Intermountain West?
By Allan Best If you look at a map showing federally designated high-speed rail corridors in the United States, the Great Plains and intermountain West look like some kind of giant inland sea. From Kansas City to Sacramento, it’s all blank. But representatives from several of the West’s metropolitan areas – Denver, Salt Lake City, […]
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Westerners and the White House
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson didn’t get far with his 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, but that may not deter his immediate predecessor, Republican Gary Johnson, from seeking his party’s nomination as the jockeying for 2012 begins just after the 2010 midterms. Johnson served two terms as governor from 1995 to […]
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Weighing the costs of unobtainium
By Heather Hansen, Red Lodge Clearing House As this year comes to a close, anxiety continues to mount on how public and private interests in the US are going to get their hands on enough rare earth elements (REE) to maintain and grow the industries that rely on them. The race is on to strategize […]
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HCN reader photo – Desert cathedral
From HCN Flickr group contributor John Mumaw of Cortez, Colo., who writes: “The only cottonwood tree for miles around is nurtured and protected from a harsh environment by the cool, moist soil found in this unique, teardrop shaped sandstone alcove on the Utah/Arizona border. The hours I spent in here waiting for the light were […]
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Sunshine and transmission lines
Colorado’s San Luis Valley sits high (average elevation 7,500 feet) and dry (less than a foot of annual precipitation on the valley floor). It also gets ample sunshine, which inspires plenty of interest in solar energy, especially to generate electricity. But no matter how “green” the energy source, it’s a subject of contention in two […]
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Westland takes its toys home
Editor’s note: David Zetland, a Western water economist, offers an insider’s perspective into water politics and economics. We will be cross-posting occasional posts and content from his blog, Aguanomics, here on the Range. Westlands Water District has pulled out of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (via BB et al.), claiming that it is unwilling to […]
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HCN reader photo – Elk in Yellowstone
This week’s reader photo is of a bull elk in Yellowstone. Enjoy! This week’s reader photo comes from HCN Flickr community member Daryl L. Hunter, who shoots beautiful wildlife photos. Submit your own photos to our Flickr group!
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Training for Afghanistan
Back in late 2001, when we started to see Afghanistan often on TV reports after the American invasion, my mother remarked that the distant land reminded her of the Wyoming country she grew up in during the 1930s and ’40s. “No paved roads or power lines,” she commented, “and it’s dry and rugged and empty.” […]
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So goes Alaska…goes Indian Country
There are three elements in successful political campaigns: money, organization and voter participation. The historic re-election of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, had all three … generated by Alaska Natives. But 2010 was no ordinary year for a lot of reasons. The first one being a change in the election laws because of a […]
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Tanned, rested and ready?
Despite his train wreck of a campaign for governor Colorado this year, former congressman Scott McInnis says he hasn’t ruled out another run at political office. McInnis, a Republican initially based in Glenwood Springs, Colo., served in the state legislature before winning a 1992 race for an open congressional seat from the Third District, which […]
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Leave it to beaver?
By John Abbotts As we’ve noted before, scientists say that climate change could create quite a water supply problem east of the Cascades. Warmer winters are already melting mountain snows earlier in the spring, leaving streams and rivers short on water in mid-summer—just when the salmon, farms, and homes really need it. And many scientists […]
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HCN reader photo – Outside Taos
This reader-submitted photo was taken on Highway 68, approximately 10 miles southwest of Taos, New Mexico. We loved the bright sky and the contrast of dried flowers. The photo comes from Flickr user and HCN group member Justin Morris. Add your photos to the High Country News community photo pool on Flickr! We feature selected […]
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Promoting forest biomass
Jodi Peterson’s succinct report – “Burning questions about biomass” — in High Country News’ November 8th edition — summarizes the many issues which surround efforts to develop biomass energy production in the West and elsewhere. Once viewed as a panacea for the region’s energy needs, a way to reduce carbon emissions and a solution for […]
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Rants from the Hill: Customer Cranky
“Rants from the Hill” are Michael Branch’s monthly musings on life in the high country of Nevada’s western Great Basin desert. Some of you may remember the novelist William Faulkner’s famous Yoknapatawpha County, which, though fictional, was based upon the Mississippi town in which Faulkner lived. Well, I’m now ready to give a fictional name […]
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Colorado Democrats shouldn’t celebrate too much
Although Democrats held on to the Colorado governor’s office and a U.S. Senate seat in this year’s election , that may have been more of a fluke than a validation at the polls. The first fluke was the gubernatorial race . On the Republican side, early favorite Scott McInnis (former state legislator and six-term congressman) […]
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Another Tesoro Flare-Up
By Eric De Place Earlier this week we learned that Tesoro — an oil refiner with nasty politics and a rap sheet a mile long — will be facing a criminal investigation for the April explosion at its Anacortes, Washington facility that killed seven workers and earned it the largest L&I fine in state history for “willful disregard of safety […]
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HCN reader photo – fall colors
It’s almost winter — time for the obligatory shot of autumn leaves and impending clouds. Reader photo of Depuys Spring Creek in Livingston, Mont. from Flickr member Daryl Hunter. Add your photos to the HCN Flickr group!
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Wolverine: Chasing the phantom
Rebecca Watters researches wolverines (gulos) and other large carnivores for the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative. She recently lent her expertise and tracking skills to the new PBS documentary Wolverine, Chasing the Phantom. Here, she presents a review and overview of the film, which airs on PBS November 14, 2010. When PBS Nature called Gianna Savoie […]
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The water footprint scam
Editor’s note: David Zetland, a Western water economist, offers an insider’s perspective into water politics and economics. We will be cross-posting occasional posts and content from his blog, Aguanomics, here on the Range. Scam may be a harsh word, since well-meaning people seem to want to improve water management, but I wonder if they aren’t […]