A few days ago a letter [pdf] written by scientists at Brigham Young University — a traditionally conservative school — plopped onto the desks of Utah’s governor and state lawmakers. The letter is being called a “stinging rebuke” and criticizes how, in a recent session, legislators gave equal value to fringe, skeptical climate change views […]
Politics
Posted inGoat
“A deeply troubled idea from the start”
In 2000, when the federal government shelled out $101 million to buy what’s now the Valles Caldera National Preserve, it made one thing clear: The government wouldn’t be the preserve’s cash cow forever. But nine years later, the preserve isn’t close to weaning itself off federal funding, according to a recent report by the Government […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Confessions of a Political Spouse
If you remember Ronald Reagan as the “Teflon president,” thank Pat Schroeder, the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, who coined the term. She served as a congresswoman from Denver for almost 25 years, arriving in Washington, D.C., in 1972, with two children — one still in diapers — and a supportive and witty […]
Posted inNovember 9, 2009: Roadless-less
Interior scandal: Rated G(reen)
During the waning years of the Bush administration, officials with the U.S. Department of Interior got a little too cozy with — hold on to your Sierra Club card — environmentalists. So says a recent report by the department’s Office of Inspector General. The investigation looked at the National Landscape Conservation System, which was created […]
Posted inArticles
The roadless rule’s ground game
Earthjustice editor Tom Turner’s book provides more details
Posted inArticles
The Wicked Witch of the West
Harriet Hageman could be roadless proponents’ worst nightmare.
Posted inGoat
Commitment issues
Today, for the first time in 15 years, leaders from the United States’ 564 federally recognized Indian tribes met with political leaders in DC to discuss the problems that blight their communities: lack of adequate health care, lack of adequate employment, lack of, well, a lot of things. The day-long summit began with opening remarks […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Armed and drunk
It’s not a joke, though it sounds like one: A new law signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, R, allows people to walk into a bar carrying concealed weapons, though once there, they can’t order a drink. The National Rifle Association’s Todd Rathner insists the law makes perfect sense: “Any time law-abiding gun owners can […]
Posted inNovember 9, 2009: Roadless-less
Is the BLM practicing unsafe CX?
More than 6,000 drilling permits issued under questionable provision
Posted inNovember 9, 2009: Roadless-less
Roadless-less
The campaign to protect unroaded forests gets torn apart by a Wyoming judge in ‘half-assed retirement’
Posted inArticles
The roadless rule ground game
Earthjustice editor Tom Turner’s book provides more details
Posted inRange
The debate that drags on
How long will the health care reform debate drag on? The Hill newspaper says “deep into December and possibly beyond by a lengthy floor debate.” If that seems like a long time, consider that the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act has been pending since 1999. Last week hearings were held in the […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Sit down and shut up
Paul Rolly seems a jolly fellow, at least judging by the picture that accompanies his column in the Salt Lake Tribune. On second thought, that amused look might mask a certain fed-upness. Here’s what’s bugging him lately: A state legislator who professed to be an expert on the U.S. Constitution proposed a bill saying “any […]
Posted inNovember 23, 2009: After the Floods
Avalanche education for all
Janet Kellam tackles an “urban” snow problem
Posted inArticles
Court decision leaves tribes dangling
Critics say the Supreme Court continues to give justification to gut treaties and rob tribes of their land.
Posted inOctober 26, 2009: The newest Westerners
Socialism and the West
This region was built on government subsidies and aid
Posted inGoat
Utah climate clash
When University of Utah professor Jim Steenburgh and a team of climatologists issued a scientific report on climate change in 2007 to then-Governor Jon Huntsman, they emphasized their “very high confidence” that humans were mostly responsible for recent warming patterns. But many Utah lawmakers didn’t take their word for it. And while the state’s new […]
Posted inRange
New Pew database tracks government subsidies
The Pew Charitable Trust has launched a new effort and website which “aims to raise public awareness about the role of federal subsidies in the economy. Subsidyscope should be useful to Westerners who want to know the details of where federal subsidies are distributed around our region. it has long been observed that – while […]
Posted inOctober 26, 2009: The newest Westerners
The good seats don’t come cheap
More proof that if you’ve got power, you probably have money that helped you get it. Sixteen Westerners are among the 50 richest Congressfolk, according to Roll Call’s annual ranking. The math, however, amounts to lowball estimates: On financial disclosure forms, lawmakers report in ranges ($1 million to $5 million, for example), so the totals […]