Columnists - The Durango Herald

Natural gas: Its footprint is larger than you think

In 2011, researchers from Cornell University caused an uproar when they published a study that found methane emissions from shale natural-gas development and use had a bigger greenhouse gas ...

DATE: Feb 26, 2014 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

School trumps minimum wage as income booster

In one of the 1980 presidential debates, Ronald Reagan (in)famously asked: “Ask yourself, ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’” The answer was supposed to be “no...

DATE: Feb 25, 2014 | CATEGORY: Thoughts Along The Way

Capitol noise subsides, gives way to wildfire, education discussion

Construction on the Colorado State Capitol dome appears to be winding down and, as the scaffolding is slowly dismantled, natural sunlight is beginning to reappear in the center of the buildi...

DATE: Feb 25, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Old wounds open in Poland – but not how you think

A crime novel from Poland, go figure. Zygmunt Miloszewski is a well-known fiction writer in Poland, earning acclaim in 2005 at the age of 26 with his first book, The Intercom. He ...

DATE: Feb 24, 2014 | CATEGORY: Murder Ink

New supernova lights up in the cigar galaxy

Greetings, stargazers. Timing is everything. One day after I submitted my What’s Up in Durango Skies column for January, the brightest supernova in a generation went off in M82....

DATE: Feb 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Smoke shop minds its p’s, q’s by swapping o’s for a’s

I noticed something weird the other day. At 22nd Street and Main Avenue, there’s a smoke shop called Gandolf’s (with an “o”). Or maybe the shop is called Gandalf’s (with an “a”). Curiously, ...

DATE: Feb 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Hey, gentlemen: you’re more likely to lose color vision

Serving in the role of medical examiner for the Federal Aviation Administration was a satisfying phase of my medical career. After a decade or more of doing exams for third-class...

DATE: Feb 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: La Plata Health Watch

Face-lift for our old friend

D&SNG spruces up 'haggard' 134-year-old car

DATE: Feb 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: John Peel

Identifying the city’s goals for the coming year

During my term on the City Council, I have learned the reason the wheels of government turn slowly is so many of them are turning at once. I hope this column, the first of a monthly series, ...

DATE: Feb 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Ending ‘job lock’

Affordable Care Act gives Americans choices on jobs, health insurance

DATE: Feb 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Old memes tie cultures to outmoded ways of thinking

Recently, a friend introduced me to the word “meme.” Now, I run across this concept frequently. The word “meme” is analogous to “gene,” but the former is information in our cultur...

DATE: Feb 22, 2014 | CATEGORY: Population Matters