Energy
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The following is commentary from Phil Cafaro, professor at Colorado State University that are germane to all of us who value wildlands, wildlife and a functioning environment. Below are portions of the Pope Francis speech and Phil’s commentary in italics. Dear Colleagues, There is a lot to chew on in the Pope’s encyclical letter, released…
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This past week, Public Broadcasting’s Nature film series featured the Sagebrush Sea. The film’s main focus was on the Greater Sage Grouse which is the emblematic creature found in this vast landscape that covers the bulk of many western states including substantial parts of New Mexico Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, California, Montana and Idaho.…
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New Democrats clear away over 40 years of Conservative rule- Alberta has never really elected a clearly left wing party, but did so yesterday with a vengeance. Populist yes in the past, e.g, the Social Credit Party, but not a left-wing party. Voters gave the left wing New Democrats (NDP) a large parliamentary majority (53…
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Second rupture under Yellowstone River in four years makes Keystone look more ominous- There has been a massive rupture of the Poplar oil pipeline under the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. This is about a hundred miles upstream from the North Dakota border and the Yellowstone’s confluence with the Missouri River. The pipeline lay buried…
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First priority for new Congress is Keystone pipeline. Why? Here in Pocatello, Idaho, today gas prices fell to $1.99 a gallon. They have been dropping for over a hundred days in a row. In January a year ago, prices were over $3.75 a gallon. Meanwhile, the new Republican congress is about to get underway. Their…
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Will the new, low petroleum prices cut the legs off tar sands and oil shale? Almost every American now sees that the price of oil has plummeted. Driving by a gas station makes seeing it easy. Gasoline is below $3 a gallon, often well below. In fact crude oil prices are down by 40% since…
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Roast bird record at Mojave solar plant even worse than predicted? Plant workers call them “streamers.” Birds that fly through the beams of concentrated sunlight at the massive Ivanpah solar plant near Primm, Nevada catch fire and fall from the sky, leaving a smoky trail as they burn and die. This solar plant is not…
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Utah State Government shows its true colors on public lands- A month ago 20 protesters made a camp near PR Springs, high (8000 feet) on the Tavaput Plateau in the Book Cliffs of Eastern Utah. This is oil shale country For almost a century developers have been trying to figure how to extract the low…