Author – The Durango Herald

Sen. Gardner’s vote can determine fate of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

With the onset of winter, it’s never too early to daydream of next year’s adventures. Nowhere compares with the raw, spontaneous wildness of Alaska’s primeval landscapes teeming with abundan...

DATE: Nov 18, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

New bill puts nation’s public lands in jeopardy

Last week, the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee passed a bill to prevent presidents from creating national monuments. It would severely limit the future preservation of m...

DATE: Oct 20, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Hurricanes are a stark reminder of the costs of climate change

As we stand transfixed by the enormously powerful hurricanes churning across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, one can’t help but think about our place in the climate-change continuum. ...

DATE: Sep 15, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Power struggle with Tri-State won’t end soon

A few weeks ago, we sent forth our champion with bated breath and hopeful expectations to plead our case before Tri-State, to please allow us to generate more electricity locally here at hom...

DATE: Aug 18, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

EPA cuts corners to ignore the law

Waiving rules to prevent methane pollution. Stripping wetlands of protection under the Clean Water Act. Throwing out restrictions against strip-mining mountaintops and dumping the spoils int...

DATE: Jul 14, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

West’s utilities abandon coal because it costs too much

“It’s all about the economics,” the expert said. “Technologies have improved to make other forms of energy less expensive than coal.” One might figure sure, that’s some tree-hugg...

DATE: Jun 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

A challenge to our national monuments: Will the Lords of Yesterday prevail?

We’re in uncharted waters. A presidential administration just launched an overarching attack on more than 11 million acres of previously protected landscapes. The Trump administr...

DATE: May 18, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Showing up is what gets the work done

This being the last column I have the privilege to write for The Durango Herald, there’s a certain pressure I feel to pen a magnum opus of sorts. Let me pour some cold water on th...

DATE: Apr 14, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

BLM office refuses to share public comments about heli-skiing in Silverton

News flash: The Dalai Lama, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, just weighed in on the proposed expansion of heli-ski terrain around Silverton. Really? Truth be told, no. But have you ev...

DATE: Mar 15, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Regulation or protection? Framing of methane rule counts

Do you know the name George Lakoff? If you don’t, you should. George Lakoff is a professor of cognitive science and linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley and an...

DATE: Feb 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Hope doesn’t create change, action does

On Friday, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as our nation’s 45th president. Here’s an odd thought: What if President Trump is exactly what America needs? How, you may...

DATE: Jan 18, 2017 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

As political winds shift, goals of San Juan Citizens Alliance remain same

Of the many emails we’ve received at San Juan Citizens Alliance, this may be the oddest. “I see that you are not on board with our President elect. Please remove us from your mail...

DATE: Dec 14, 2016 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green