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Let the Debates Begin
One recurring theme among environmentalists, regularly confirmed by pollsters, is that concern over environmental issues seldom guides the way people vote, especially for president. People care, no doubt about that, but generally something else—crime, war, the economy, party loyalty—tips the balance one way or another. This time will be interesting to watch. There’s little question…
Read MoreH-Hour Approaches for Roan Plateau
The Bush administration has had a strange way of uniting folks in the West. In particular, hunters, sportsmen, local communities, local businesses and enviros have come together to fight back when the "drill it all" mentality of the oil businessman president ran into treasured publc lands. And in surprising places, this coalition has staved off…
Read MoreObama Weighs In to Support Flathead Protection
This may have been a political no-brainer: Campaigning in Montana on the eve of the primary, Obama stated his opposition to a proposed open-pit coal mine 40km north of the Canada-US border in the headwaters of the Flathead River, which forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park, declaring that "the Flathead River and Glacier…
Read More"I Can't Stand It"
As the average price of a gallon of gas tops $4 for the first time this week, TV pundits are having a field day. There’s nothing like bad economic news that everyone can understand to bring out the blather. This morning’s "Today" show gave us Jim Cramer, the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins of TV stock jocks,…
Read MoreThe Long and Winding Roadless
I’m into the last stages of a book on the roadless rule—you remember, the rule that protects unroaded areas on the national forests, the one put in place toward the end of the Clinton administration and walked away from by the Bushniks. It’s a long, tangled, and fascinating tale and I have two more weeks…
Read MoreWhat Is Lost, What Remains
Photos tell story of the energy boom’s threat to wild Wyoming. The natural gas industry has boomed nowhere like it has in southwest Wyoming, in the Upper Green River Valley at the south end of the Yellowstone ecosystem. Hundreds of well pads have been scraped and an industrial web of facilities and roads have gone…
Read MoreShopping As a Climate-neutral Act
In my last post I told you about using Freecycle, Craigslist, and eBay to reduce-reuse-and-recycle my way through a total refurnishing of my new, post-divorce life. It was a lot more fun and I found better quality things than shopping at garage sales and second-hand stores. There’s really great stuff out there if you follow…
Read MoreOut of Kansas – a National Clean Energy Agenda
We have just learned that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will appear June 26 in downtown Denver at an Earthjustice program to tell the story of how her bruising fight with coal power interests has helped create a national clean energy agenda. Seating is limited for the breakfast presentation, and reservations are recommended. The governor rose…
Read MoreYellow Soap
Q: What do forests, water, wildlife, and agriculture have in common? A: They’re all being reshaped, redistributed, and otherwise readjusted by climate change. Now, in real time. That’s the conclusion of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, which just released a long-delayed government-commissioned report on how climate change is affecting the American landscape. This is…
Read MoreWhite House Propaganda and the Environment
Today Americans first learned that former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has written a tell-all book about his years in the Bush Administration. According to press accounts, the administration was less than candid with the American people. McClellan now believes he told numerous untruths on behalf of the administration. While the administration will certainly…
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