Just a quick grin here. Rocky Barker, a veteran Idaho Statesman writer and friend of mine, plays with this news: … The Idaho Department of Commerce is planning on picking a Seattle family for an all-expense-paid trip to Idaho for fishing, rafting, hiking, horseback riding and the like — in exchange for (the family) starring […]
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Of Gods and Sea Kittens
How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world — the paragon of animals! ~ William Shakespeare In the Sacramento Bee today, Republican Rep. George Radanovich of California’s 19th District accused environmentalists […]
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After the crash
The housing/growth boom of the last decade was a wild ride for the West, feeling a bit like a euphoric all-night meth binge. Only the drug in this case was easy credit and an unshakable belief that the good times could never end. Nearly three years after the housing bubble reached its bursting point — […]
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“The Darth Vader of forest policy”
If you paid any attention at all to national forest issues during Bush’s tenure, you heard the name “Mark Rey” a lot. Appointed Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment, Rey oversaw the Forest Service for eight years. From the start, environmental groups were wary of Rey’s logging-friendly record, while his supporters praised Rey’s […]
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The line is busy
Back in 1991 when the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment set up the call center to process people who need unemployment benefits, it seemed like a good way to increase efficiency and prevent long lines at the office. Back then, there were about 400 calls a day. Fast forward to 2009. “What we’re seeing […]
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Blue jeans and their critics
Doubtless you’ve heard of George Will, a prominent member of the chattering class. He wears a bow tie. And now this fop, with prominent sartorial affectations of his own, presumes to give us fashion advice. In a recent syndicated column, Will rants against blue jeans, also known as “Western wear.” Will borrows many of his […]
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Watts or Wildfire
Here’s a new angle on fire in the west: one large southern California utility is trying to convince ratepayers that some regions of its service area are too fire-prone for uninterrupted electricity. Or at least, that’s the implication behind San Diego Gas and Electric’s proposal to unplug portions of its grid when there’s a high […]
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Waste, fraud and abuse
Those who have lived for any amount of time in a western ranching community will not be surprised by news that the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the US Department of Agriculture, overpaid landowners for “conservation” benefits. According to a report in the Capital Press, a western Ag weekly reporting on a […]
Posted inRay
Ex-congressman dies in Utah ATV crash
For years I’ve collected stories about people around the West who get killed or seriously hurt in off-road driving wrecks. I got interested in the ongoing tragedy when an admirable young man I knew crashed his machine in a popular ATV playground. He was a math teacher who inspired one of my kids. He went […]
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Water, wine and marijuana
Newspapers across the West have been replete with stories about California’s water woes. But almost all those reports – including my recent GOAT post – focus on California’s Central Valley where farmers from the North (the Sacramento Valley), the South (the San Joaquin Valley) and the Center (the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta) compete with municipalities, wildlife […]
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Single-celled solar
There are few sights as lovely as a diatom. Single-celled, photosynthetic algae with intricate skeletons made of pure silica, they fascinated famous 19th century German zoologist Ernst Haekel, who painted this illustration in oils. Recently they have also become fascinating to scientists developing biologically-based solar panels. Diatoms are ecological workhorses. For at least 100 million […]
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spam…
Spam – not SPAM – is the stuff of evil Internet marketers. It’s bred in dark, dark spaces and spread to the intangible depths of E-mails and pop-up ads of YOUR computer. And today, I found out that spam’s got quite the environmental impact! Well, I’d never actually eaten SPAM until today, but I thought […]
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Score one for Grand Staircase-Escalante
Thirteen years ago, when outgoing President Clinton designated Grand Staircase-Escalante a national monument, the outcry from some southeast Utah residents was deafening (and HCN was there to write about it). Angry ranchers called their representatives and demanded repeal, locals burned Clinton in effigy, billboards saying NO MONUMENT! went up along the highways. Garfield and Kane […]
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Tea Party Day is coming
Even here in the boondocks, far from any place that Fox News has ever covered, it’s impossible to escape the publicity about the impending “Tea Party on Tax Day.” First came a robocall on Saturday; a husky male voice advised me to “show that you care about our country” by “attending a Tea Party on […]
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Subterranean seltzer water
In an ideal world, we’d be able to stash most of our planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions in underground formations, where they would turn to stone. As High Country News has reported in the past, the carbon in C02 can be incorporated into calcium carbonate, or limestone, through chemical reactions. That’s a good thing for climate […]
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Your turn, our turn
Today and tomorrow only, fellow intern Terray Sylvester and I will be guest blogging at the National Recreation & Parks Association Blog. The forum is called Y Become Involved? Basically, we’ll be discussing a big issue that public lands are facing: How to get young people involved in parks, recreation, and conservation activities. As with […]
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It takes a village…
It’s National Library Week (April 12 – 18), and here in HCN‘s hometown of Paonia, Colo. we just celebrated the opening of our brand-new public library. After 5 years of hard work, the old, dingy, 3,700-square-foot library has been replaced by an 8,000-square-foot building with tall windows that let in plenty of light and a […]
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California’s Central Water War Heats Up
California’s State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) – which serve the vast Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys of California – have projected dramatically reduced water delivery to all water users. Municipalities, wildlife refuges and farmers who hold water rights can expect to receive 50% to 60% of what has been requested. […]
Posted inRay
Battle for justice in Libby might collapse quietly
Environmental groups send me many press releases. And I read many news stories about environmental issues — news framed by the groups. The influential groups are busy designating more wilderness, and filing lawsuits to protect wolves, and pushing Congress to reform mining law, battling coal, battling oil and gas, battling off-road drivers etc. etc. But […]
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The Water Theft Bill
This week, the Montana Senate is voting on legislation that could give gas companies much more control over water pumped out of coalbed methane wells in the Powder River Basin. Senate Bill 505, if passed, will legitimize what many Montanans consider “water theft.” A single coalbed methane well can produce around 16,800 gallons of water every day. Water […]