Letter to the editor

Regarding your recent article on wheelchair access to wilderness, my mantra of inclusion is: Everyone is included, all people, all places, all ways (HCN, 12/12/05: Wheelchairs and wilderness can coexist). Wheelchair user access to the wilderness certainly fits. I hope Congressman Simpson is successful. Ed Rosenberg Cape May Court House, New Jersey This article appeared […]

I propose we designate the “Rich Pombo Memorial Arctic Petting Zoo.” Rep. Pombo should be given a sealskin coat and “invited” to dedicate the facility by hand-feeding the polar bears. Pombo has single-handedly voiced more schemes to eradicate what America truly stands for than any other person ever to sit in Congress (HCN, 10/17/05: Pombo […]

Thank you for the superb article “Back on Track” by Allen Best (HCN, 11/14/05: Back on Track). I reluctantly moved from Denver two and a half years ago, at a time when we could be cautiously optimistic about Denver’s mass transit future. I have since followed developments in Denver, which, as Allen writes, are indeed […]

HCN’s recent cover story on the fate of the Anasazi was both mystical and informative — mystical because it was peppered with references to the imagination (HCN, 10/3/05: Out of the Four Corners). The article attributed archaeologist Susan Ryan with gaining a knowledge that “was too intimate and instinctual” to fit within the confines of […]

Your recent essay by Pepper Trail expresses great concern over the current evolution debate (HCN, 10/3/05: What’s at stake in the evolution debate). I agree that this is an extremely important issue, but for exactly opposite reasons. Trail lumps intelligent design theory together with creationism, which is misleading. Creationism is based on a literal interpretation […]

Michelle Nijhuis’s article “The Ghosts of Yosemite” seems to be little more than a rant against the National Park Service (HCN, 10/17/05: The Ghosts of Yosemite). Rather than dwelling on the threat that global warming poses to native wildlife, Nijhuis instead changes the focus to an unfair criticism of an agency that is hardly responsible […]

Rebecca Clarren’s article on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath River Basin Water Bank fails to mention that over the past five years, $50 million has been given to farmers in the Basin to reduce their water use through improved irrigation efficiency (HCN, 10/17/05: ‘Water bank’ drags river basin deeper into debt). Where is the water […]

Thank you for your excellent story, “The Public Land’s Big Cash Crop” (HCN, 10/31/05: The Public Lands’ Big Cash Crop). As a recent transplant to Northern California, I’ve had a rapid education on the cultural impacts of this taboo plant. The argument that if only cannabis were legalized the problem would disappear was given short […]

I was one of those first eager riders on the new light-rail system in Salt Lake City in December of 1999 (HCN, 11/14/05: Back on track). After years of rampant population growth in the Salt Lake Valley, I find that Salt Lake City today has more traffic and congestion, the air is way more polluted, […]

I was disappointed to read the opening statement in “Doubling density near Durango” (HCN, 11/14/05: Doubling density near Durango). As chair of the board of county commissioners who signed memoranda of understanding with BP and with Samson Resources, I can guarantee you that we did not sign “deals allowing two energy companies to double the […]

Let’s be real. Despite your recent story on Nevada, the world of water has changed of late and the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) gets a good portion of the credit (HCN, 9/19/05: Squeezing water from a stone). SNWA reinvented water in the Southwest, changing a nastily competitive situation from the “whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s […]

The war on drugs will only be solved if we legalize marijuana (HCN, 10/31/05: The public lands’ big cash crop). Sadly, and hypocritically, the agencies that are supposed to be solving the drug problem look the other way when push comes to shove. They make token arrests while leaving the cartels intact to rake in […]

Your article “Methamphetamine fuels the West’s oil and gas boom” presented a very one-sided look at the problem (HCN, 10/3/05: Methamphetamine fuels the West’s oil and gas boom). You acknowledged that meth helped the workers survive long, hard 12-hour days and that the drug can keep a user awake for hours or even days. You […]

Matt Jenkins’ story “Squeezing water from a stone” was well researched and informative, but I am afraid that the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s (SNWA) efforts to acquire water are just the tip of the iceberg (HCN, 9/19/05: Squeezing Water from a Stone). Lincoln County caved in because they did not have the money to fight […]

The recent Editor’s Note, “Exodus,” showed me that you need to be more careful when reaching for analogies (HCN, 10/3/05: Exodus). The comparison of the Anasazi to modern-day New Orleans included the now debunked media stories about widespread “murder and rape” in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Those stories made front-page news in my Oregonian […]

I must complain about the article “What Happened To The Anasazi?” (HCN, 10/3/05: Out of the Four Corners) on two points. The first point is that the subject matter hardly qualifies as news. No great, truly new discoveries were reported, nor was any compelling, new explanation for the “mystery” of the Anasazis’ abandonment of these […]

Regarding Jeff Falen’s letter denouncing biodiesel on the basis that atmospheric carbon is atmospheric carbon regardless of its source (HCN, 10/17/05), I must disagree on three counts: While there is a mostly finite amount of carbon on the earth and in its atmosphere, sizable amounts are stored within the crust. Humans really began distorting the […]

I assume Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., occasionally rides a horse, because he is a rancher (HCN, 10/17/05: Pombo takes on the Endangered Species Act). I know that many people have heard of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. I see Pombo riding the pale horse, Death, trying to bring […]

In response to cranky letters about HCN covering fewer environmental issues and more “sociology” ? recent stories on Cannon Air Force Base (HCN, 8/22/05: Leavin’ on a Jet Plane) and Polynesian/Mormon gangs in Utah (HCN, 8/8/05: The Gangs of Zion) ? I wanted to compliment you on expanding your editorial vision. As environmental justice activists […]

I hate to continue to belabor the debate regarding what is or is not an appropriate topic for HCN, but when I saw the recent letter from Carol Chipman entitled “Stick to Environmental Topics,” I felt I had to respond (HCN, 10/3/05: Stick to environmental topics). As a planner in the West, I know that […]