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EPA Welcomes Smog to National Parks
Aah, summer! Time to hit the road and visit some our crown jewel national parks here in the West. It’s time to enjoy the trees, the canyons, the birds, bees, and bears, the ranger talks, the smog. The smog? Yep, get ready for it. Because if the EPA has its way, the tremendous views from…
Read MoreAlaska Wants to Buy a Few Scientists
As everyone knows by now, the administration has moved to give Endangered Species Act protection to the polar bear—sort of. The bear goes on the list, but there a big footnote that says that energy development can proceed unhindered. Interior Secretary Kempthorne proclaimed that the Endangered Species Act must not be used to combat global…
Read MoreDrink? Or Drive?
Drink? Or drive? That may sound like questions to ask a a prospective designated driver before a night on the town. It may soon be the stark choice faced by an entire region. That’s because Shell Oil is planning to build giant oil shale extraction plants in western Colorado. The dirty little secret of oil…
Read MoreIt’s a Gas War, Let's Ration
We are strictly nonpartisan and apolitical here at Tom’s Turn, so we will be naming no names today. Let’s put it this way. Two powerful and influential figures with overweening political ambition have suggested that the federal government should suspend federal gasoline taxes between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year to provide some relief…
Read MoreOff-Road Vehicle Driving May Be Hazardous to Your Health
Advocates for off-road vehicles (ORVs) — dirt bikes, three-wheelers, and all-terrain vehicles — like to say that their recreation is all about the three F’s: "family, freedom, and fun." Now they’ve decided to add "lung disease" to the list. In California, a 48-square-mile area of Bureau of Land Management Lands known as "Clear Creek" apparently…
Read MoreWayne Newton, Uranium Mining, and the Grand Canyon
In the late 1980s, the country celebrated the 200th anniversary of our most important legal text: the U.S. Constitution. To do so, a commission was established, headed by respected former Chief Justice Warren Burger. And to lead a celebration in Washington, D.C., an equally distinguished American was chosen: Wayne Newton. Wayne Newton!!?? The original Las…
Read MoreColor of Most Politicians: Sickly Green
We don’t get very many comments here at Tom’s Turn—please comment!—so when we do, we pay attention. To this one, for example, from Brenda Hixenbaugh: "Considering the track records of certain officials, isn’t it time that we get people elected who are directly connected to all of this planet’s and our needs? Surely there are…
Read MoreOne Reason to Love National Parks
Over the last few months, I visited two of our flagship National Parks — Death Valley in California, and Zion in Utah. Both share some of the less-than-inspiring features of many national parks: the miles of paved highway, the acres of park land devoted to borrow pits, maintenance yards, employee housing, and snack bars, and…
Read MoreThe Weekly Outrage
"Some courts are taking laws written more than 30 years ago to primarily address local and regional environmental effects, and applying them to global climate change. The Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act were never meant to regulate global climate change." —George W. Bush, April 16, 2008 The…
Read MoreGood News, Bad News on the Rez
The Navajo Nation — America’s largest Native American reservation — has breathtaking scenery, disheartening poverty, and a lot of sunny, windy days. So it was good news both on and off the Rez that the Nation has contracted with an East Coast renewable energy firm to build 500 megawatts of wind power generation there. The…
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