A profile of Washington, DC, insider John Podesta, the Trans Pacific Partnership, and a contentious diversion on the Gila River.

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Politics of the possible

Bruce Babbitt loves to tell this story: At a White House social function in the late 1990s, Babbitt, who was Bill Clinton’s secretary of the Interior, finally got a brief moment alone with his boss. He used it to pass him a note that read: “TR: 230 million acres, WJC: ??” It was a shorthand…

by Paul Larmer

Borrowed land

Thanks for doing an article on the Bisti Wilderness (“Strangers in a familiar land,” HCN, 4/13/15). It was a good one, and I like the quote, “We are all just visitors here.” An old Navajo lady, a member of a grazing committee not too far from Bisti, used to say, “We are all here on borrowed…

by Alvin Whitehair

Bundy and the law

“Checking in on Cliven Bundy” (HCN, 4/27/15)? Are you kidding me? The only checking in we need with him is from his cell, when he’s finally brought to justice for making a mockery of federal law. Mark De GregorioMasonville, Colorado This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bundy and…

by Mark De Gregorio

Wagons around Ballona

Articles about this precious Southern California ecosystem are always welcome, and this one delves more deeply into the complexity of Ballona than the typical “this side versus that side” article, which is refreshing (“The Wetland Wars,” HCN, 5/11/15). However, what is still missing from the discussion is the realization that the lack of transparency and…

by Walter Lamb

Changing baseline

Without using these exact words, editor Sarah Gilman refers to the changing baseline (“Knowledge, a wrecking ball,” HCN, 4/27/15). Each generation thinks that life began when its awareness began. The children of the generation before Sarah roved an empty mesa near Boulder and perhaps mourned its loss. As a young adult, I roamed the side canyons of Lake Powell and…

by Jeanmarie Haney

Warm Northwest

“A crystal ball for the Pacific Northwest” (HCN, 4/27/15) gives us a good summary of what may happen to precipitation in the Pacific Northwest in coming years, but says little about what may happen to temperatures. However, the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute makes it clear: “Every global climate model used by the Intergovernmental Panel…

by Peter Bridges

The urban coyote watcher

Janet Kessler has spent the last decade tracking, studying, documenting, and generally enjoying the heck out of her favorite neighbor.

by Leath Tonino

Water-harvest warning

It is very sad that a man of science, Brent Cluff, believes that “water harvesting could support unlimited growth.” In “Tucson’s rain-catching revolution” (HCN, 4/27/15), rainwater harvesting is touted as a way to conserve water. It is a step in the right direction, but only a step, and it has several negative impacts. First, it allows…

by Brandt Mannchen