On the Cover
BY Katherine Pioli
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October 4, 2017
Begin “the conversation” at the kitchen table-not in the intensive care unit When Bostonian Ellen Goodman began making end-of-life care decisions for her mother, she felt unprepared for the cascade of issues she had to face: another bone marrow biopsy? …
BY Katherine Pioli
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October 2, 2017
A body is a terrible thing to waste; sign up for organ donation today. We’ve all turned our back for a split second on a child. For parents Alicia and DJ, that split second, one beautiful summer day, turned to tragedy. It was only noon when their 19-mo …
BY Staff
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October 2, 2017
Two friends make a pact and see it through to the end. Six months before my best friend Steve ever knew he was sick we had watched a documentary about green burials. Fascinated that this option existed, we both agreed this was a much better way to be b …
BY Rebecca Campbell
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October 2, 2017
A tale of two sisters. On January 13, 2012 Josephine Valentine and Andromeda Jane were born at 33 weeks and five days old. Thirty-three weeks isn’t very premature these days in the world of prematurity so I expected they may spend a month in the NICU a …
BY Katherine Pioli
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October 2, 2017
Healthcare professionals offer hope and comfort in grief program. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. — Romans 12:15 Twenty years ago, Dr. Beth Cole and Sherry Poulson started the University of Utah College of Nursing’s Caring C …
BY Christian Fox
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October 2, 2017
The death-positive movement. What do you think about when you hear the word death? Not the hundred delicate euphemisms for it—kicking the bucket, passing away—but the word itself. Death. How does that word make you feel? The final curtain on our lives …
BY Taylor Hartman
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October 2, 2017
Sustainable transportation (comes with fishing pole). Visit Salt Lake City’s Bicycle Collective on any given day and one will be surrounded by people who share a common passion. A sense of purpose hangs in the air, as shop attendants and mechanics tend …
BY Alice Toler
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October 2, 2017
Making the best of a Valium dependency. To be honest, I was a bit of a weird kid. Today I think they would diagnose me with some kind of learning disability and give me extra time in a room with some adult who could help me work out “successful strateg …
BY Jim French
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October 2, 2017
Dig into glorious fall. With glorious fall upon us, many get the itch to plant things, like fruit trees. Get them in the ground now and they will be comfortably in their new home before the gales of November come calling. What to plant? Think about wha …
BY Staff
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October 1, 2017
Going green isn’t just a life-style choice. It’s an afterlife-style choice, too. The goal of a green, or natural, burial is to return the body to the earth in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition and allows the body to return to dust naturally. …
BY Staff
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October 2, 2017
Thinking of buying a house? Avoid the scary stuff: Read this first. Closing on a home purchase feels like climbing out of a dungeon where your attention was held captive for months. You sense satisfaction and relief signing nearly a million settlement …
BY Suzanne Wagner
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October 2, 2017
As the seasons shift… Osho Zen Tarot: The Outsider, Friendliness, Success Medicine Cards: Bear, Ant Mayan Oracle: Realm Shift, Cimi, Ben Ancient Egyptian Tarot: The World, Justice, Princess of Disks Aleister Crowley Deck: Knight of Cups, Dominion, Lo …
BY Elaine Jarvik
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October 2, 2017
In River. Swamp. Cave. Mountain, Izzy and JJ try to make sense of loss, grief, death and life When I was seven, my parents took a train to North Carolina to attend the funeral of my grandmother and I was left at home in Maryland with an aunt. When they …
BY Austen Diamond
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October 2, 2017
A visit to Pilar’s is a rich, multi-layered feast for the senses. Color, light, music in the air and her everpresent canine companion, Casper, all greet you along with Pilar’s open arms, taking you with both hands deeper into her remarkable art cocoon. …
BY Diane Olson
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October 2, 2017
Get your death act together with Good to Go’s “Departure File.” Death. I think of it all the time. Okay, not all the time, but at least once or twice a day. Not in a freaked-out, “OMG-what-if-I-get-in-an-accident-or-have-a-heart-attack?!” way. More in …
BY Charlotte Bell
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October 2, 2017
A celebration of life. In 35 years of practicing asana, only rarely have I heard Savasana, yoga’s final relaxation pose, called by its literal name: Corpse Pose. Whoever thought of this name for a pose that so many list as their favorite was definitel …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 2, 2017
Environmental news from around the state and the West. Leaked Zinke memo snubs public input on Monuments Last month The Washington Post obtained a leaked memo from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that recommends drastically reducing the size of both Bear …
BY Dennis Hinkamp
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October 2, 2017
Some of the things I’m most proud of are things I don’t or didn’t do. I’m not talking about the big stuff. For instance, I have never started a nuclear war or run over a panda with a tractor. Of course I was never given the opportunity, but I’m sure I …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 3, 2017
Last month The Washington Post obtained a leaked memo from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that recommends drastically reducing the size of both Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase National Monument (GSENM) in Utah, as well as shrinking or a …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 3, 2017
In September the State of Utah submitted its own proposal asking the U.S. Department of the Interior to literally decimate Bears Ears National Monument, reducing it to a tenth of its current size. Despite hollow promises that the State of Utah would be …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 4, 2017
Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke isn’t just bad for national monuments, he’s bad for wildlife habitat, too. In 2015, the Obama administration hammered out plans to keep sage grouse off of the Endangered Species list by establishing recovery plans …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 4, 2017
Utah Rivers Council (URC) has initiated a new water conservation campaign for Utah called 40 by 30—the goal is to reduce daily water consumption per person 40% by 2030. Water conservation is necessary to save Utah’s lakes and streams from development a …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 4, 2017
In 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a Regional Haze Ruling that required Rocky Mountain Power to install pollution controls on coal-fired power plants at Hunter and Huntington. The ruling was a big win for Utah’s chronic air qualit …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 4, 2017
Salt Lake County is updating the Wasatch Canyons General Plan, last updated in 1989. The Plan is an official statement of county policy on the future use of the Wasatch Mountains and it guides future development and preservation in the canyons. So far …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 4, 2017
In the transition to renewable energy, the biggest obstacles are challenges to the business model of existing utility companies. As rooftop solar has become more popular in Utah, Rocky Mountain Power has been trying to charge customers with solar insta …
BY Amy Brunvand
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October 4, 2017
In summer 2017, The Utah Division of Air Quality reported an astonishing 32 “red air” days, mostly due to smoke from regional forest fires. We can expect more bad air days next summer since scientists say that human-caused climate change is driving a t …
BY Diane Olson
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October 2, 2017
A monthly compendium of random wisdom for the natural world and beyond. October 1 Sunrise: 7:24am. Sunset: 7:09pm. Historic average: 72° high; 46° low. October 2 International Day of Non-Violence and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. “There are many causes …