Did you know that the average American spends one year of his or her life watching TV commercials, that every year in this country 1.3 million acres are blacktopped, and that each day, nine square miles of rural land are turned over to development? Americans overconsume, yet remain unhappy, according to statistics in All Consuming […]
Books
Posted inDecember 12, 1994: Shrink to fit
Fighters for justice
Gail Small: I am a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. I am an environmental attorney, activist, and founder of Native Action – one of the few grass-roots environmental groups based on a reservation. The 500,000-acre Northern Cheyenne reservation is located in the beautiful ponderosa pine country of southeastern Montana, (and is) rapidly being surrounded […]
Posted inDecember 12, 1994: Shrink to fit
Crude awakening
The Exxon tanker spill was a drop in the bucket compared to what the U.S. oil industry routinely wastes. In Crude Awakening, The Oil Mess in America: Wasting Energy, Jobs and the Environment, Friends of the Earth says we lose the equivalent of 1,000 Exxon spills each year through leaks, evaporation and inefficient use. Author […]
Posted inDecember 12, 1994: Shrink to fit
War on wheels
Jeeps, dirt bikes and four-wheelers roar off designated roads in the wildlands of Utah and rip up desert wildlife, says the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management stands by and lets the damage happen, the group charges. SUWA wants President Clinton to issue an Executive Order closing all public lands to […]
Posted inDecember 12, 1994: Shrink to fit
Pests and pesticides
If you don’t like chemical pesticides but don’t like pests either, then Pesticides in our Communities: Choices for Change may be for you. It tells how to substitute boric-acid powder, powdered sugar, corn syrup and stale beer for dichlorvos (Vapona), chlorpyrifos (Raid Roach, Hot Shot Roach), and carbaryl (Sevin). Published by Concern Inc., a Washington, […]
Posted inNovember 14, 1994: Land grant universities
Say what?
The NPS wants help ASAP in de-jargonizing its PR under NEPA. Translated, that means for the first time in 12 years the National Park Service is considering changes in procedure under the National Environmental Policy Act, the mother of all environmental protection. Passed in 1969, the act describes which environmental impacts the federal government must […]
Posted inNovember 14, 1994: Land grant universities
Caribou population still too small
Since the woodland caribou in Montana’s Selkirk Mountains were listed as an endangered species in 1983, the caribou population has more than doubled, from 23 animals to 50. But without intensive management by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Selkirk’s caribou are doomed, says David Tallmon, a biologist at the University of Montana. The […]
Posted inNovember 14, 1994: Land grant universities
Wild in Montana
Two former high-ranking Forest Service officials known for their blunt criticism of the agency headline the Montana Wilderness Association’s 36th annual convention in Great Falls, Dec. 2-3. Tom Kovalecky, retired supervisor of the Nez Perce National Forest, and John Mumma, former regional forester for the northern region of the Forest Service, will speak about changes […]
Posted inNovember 14, 1994: Land grant universities
Blow, whistleblowers, blow
Continuing to emphasize openness at the Department of Energy, Secretary Hazel O’Leary proposed reforms Oct. 17 to protect whistleblowers. Employees who raise concerns about fraud or safety, for example, would be protected against retaliation and litigation costs related to lawsuits brought against them by contractors, and the agency would form a special department for employee […]
Posted inNovember 14, 1994: Land grant universities
Who are you calling redskin?
When you go to a Saints’ football game “and a little mascot dressed like the pope runs around and sprinkles holy water on all the drunks, then you should start protesting. And us Indians will be right there beside you,” says the director of the American Indian Movement, Clyde Bellecourt. He makes the comparison in […]
Posted inNovember 14, 1994: Land grant universities
From Oregon to Wyoming
A former county commissioner in Oregon has taken over the reins of the Wyoming Outdoor Council. New executive director Tom Throop was a commissioner in Deschutes County, Ore., where he helped begin a recycling program and rewrite county land-use laws to protect farmlands and forests. Throop, 47, who spent eight years in the Oregon Legislature, […]
Posted inNovember 14, 1994: Land grant universities
Greens under attack
The press has followed the wrong story, says David Helvarg, author of The War Against the Greens: The “Wise-Use” Movement, the New Right, and Anti-Environmental Violence. Zealous anti-environmentalists like to portray themselves as victims of an elite movement that has swept across the country, Helvarg says, and the national press, led by New York Times […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Organizing citizens for the next 20 years
-Where do citizen activists go from here?” asks the 20th anniversary issue of The Workbook, published by the Albuquerque-based Southwest Research and Information Center. Varying answers come from 19 veteran activists whose essays appear in this special 47-page issue. In New Mexico, Maria Varela says empowering land-based communities to develop their economies is the answer […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Timber industry takes a stand
Stung by the Sierra’s Club’s book, Clearcut, the timber industry has struck back with a glossy 28-page rebuttal. Closer Look: An On-the-Ground Investigation of the Sierra Club’s Book, Clearcut, makes the case that clearcutting can improve forest health. The Sierra Club’s 1993 book presented aerial photographs of nearly 100 denuded sites to represent the industry’s […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Green Classifieds
If you’re a conservationist – budding, seasoned amateur or salaried professional – you may want to check out Earth Work, published 11 times a year by the Student Conservation Association. Every other issue is labeled JobScan and contains nationwide environmental job listings ranging from seasonal internships to career opportunities. Other issues contain interviews with conservation […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Wilderness Act at 30
Is there a difference between a wilderness in a national park and a wilderness in a national forest? Why are cows and sheep allowed to graze in wilderness? Are airports permitted? The Wilderness Act Handbook, reissued by The Wilderness Society, aims to answer these and other questions about this country’s 96 million acre National Wilderness […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Uncontrollable coyote
For Wayne Grady, it was on a cold, clear night in eastern Ontario, Canada, when he heard coyotes howling: “The sounds seemed to tremble on the verge of language, to be, almost literally, the voice of the wilderness.” This recollection introduces The World of the Coyote, a glossy book about the canine’s habits and history. […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Come into the forest
-Nature is not only more complex than we think; it is even more complex than we can think,” said biologist Frank Egler, whose observation is one of dozens of quotations gracing a new, permanent exhibit at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Ore. Called The Changing Forest, the exhibit features ceiling-high trees and indoor and […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Witness
-Each species is a masterpiece,” says biologist and writer E.O. Wilson in his introduction to Witness: Endangered Species of North America, a large-format book of 200 stunning black-and-white and color portraits. Photographers Susan Middleton and David Littschwager collaborated with the California Academy of Sciences and Chronicle Books to produce this collection, to try to focus […]
Posted inOctober 17, 1994: As elections near, green hopes wilt
Celebrate the West
Growth, politics and the future of the region will come under scrutiny at a “Celebrate the West” conference in Jackson, Wyo., Nov. 5-7. The conference honors Western historian and author Alvin M. Josephy Jr., who has helped Indians establish their voice in the telling of Western history. The gathering at the National Wildlife Art Museum […]