April 2020

Innate inner wildness Editor’s note: The Chakra Series, by Todd Mangum, MD, first appeared in CATALYST in 1995 and was repeated in 2009. These stories remain among the most read in our online library. In 2020 we are bringing you an updated version, whi …

A single parent mom moves in. Invisible with speed, a tiny blur buzzes up to a perch above our front door. It’s mid-May and Salt Lake is still in a wet cold spring. The hummers started arriving in April and already are fighting over the feeder we hung …

A coalition of environmental groups has filed a legal objection to a federal permit for 3,500 fracking wells that would cut off the “Path of the Pronghorn,” a 170-mile migration route between Grand Teton National Park and winter range in the Upper Gree …

Utah’s largest water reservoir is contained in snowpack that releases water all summer long. Scientists estimate that in the Colorado River basins, annual mean discharge from snowpack decreases by 9.3% for every degree Celsius of warming. This is not j …

The Trump Administration has announced yet another bad plan to undermine sage-grouse conservation. Sage grouse are an indicator species for the health of sagebrush ecosystems and more than 350 other species that live there. The Center for Biodiversity …

The Utah Rivers Council has launched a “Save 2% for Utah” campaign demanding more ambitious water conservation strategies from the Utah Division of Water Resources (DWR). DWR plans to decrease per-person water use by only 0.5% per year from a 2015 base …

Colorado College has released the results of their annual Conservation in the West Poll, which asks voters in the Rocky Mountain West to weigh in on conservation of national parks and public lands, energy, water, wildlife and other pressing challenges. …

More than 700 jobs in the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante regions could be lost as a result of Trump-era National Monument reductions, according to an economic study published in the journal Science Advances. Researchers studied 14 monument de …

Acceptance is the key to freedom. Allowing is a form of love. Osho Zen Tarot:  Playfulness, Flowering, Abundance Medicine Cards: Dolphin, Weasel Mayan Oracle:  Ik, Mystical Power, Ahau Ancient Egyptian Tarot:   Temperance, Judgement, Queen of Disks Ale …

April 1  Average temps today: high 58º, low 38º. Sunrise: 7:10am. Sunset: 7:53pm. April 2  Red cedar is not a cedar, Norfolk pine is not a pine, Douglas fir is not a fir and Australian pine isn’t even related to pines, says The Curious Coniferite autho …

Let Uncle Dennis tell you a bedtime fable. “Stop crying, Jimmy. I’ve done all the research and there is only a .001% chance of a monster coming out from under your bed to eat you; sweet dreams.” You wouldn’t say this to your three-year-old who was cryi …

The U.S. Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the country’s people, businesses and economy. The Census Bureau has the responsibility to count all of the people and where they live, every 10 years as mandated in the U.S. Cons …

Instead, mind your thoughts. Over the past decades of mentoring people in mindfulness practice, the most common quandary I hear from novice meditators is this: “I can’t meditate. When I sit down to meditate, my mind becomes busier than ever. I thought …

Eleven poetry boxes are placed throughout the University of Utah’s Red Butte Garden. This month and next, they contain the winning poems of Red Butte Garden’s annual Poetry Month contest. Alas, you cannot see them because the Garden is closed. But here …

See our list of articles addressing the COVID-19 pandemic [display-posts image_size=”thumbnail” wrapper=”div” wrapper_class=”display-posts-listing image-left” tag=”covid-19″ include_excerpt=”true” excerpt_more=”Read More” excerpt_length=”80″ include_ex …

A single parent mom moves in. Invisible with speed, a tiny blur buzzes up to a perch above our front door. It’s mid-May and Salt Lake is still in a wet cold spring. The hummers started arriving in April and already are fighting over the feeder we hung …

Shit gets real. Earthquakes. A global pandemic. Grocery store aisles stripped bare. Restaurant dining rooms, bars, and many businesses are closed. Despite our state’s misplaced reputation for emergency preparedness, harried citizens are waking up befor …

A two-step program to create political climate change and establish heartland security. “To upshift our karma in these challenging times, we must embrace political climate change—warmer hearts and cooler heads.” —Swami Beyondananda   Editor’s Note …

A look at local businesses and organizations whose work is already helping reverse global warming and stem the tide of climate change. What follows is a recognition and a call to support for some of the Salt Lake City and Utah local businesses, nongove …

Like every year, the 45 days that make up the annual Utah legislative session come and go in a blink of an eye. Lawmakers passed 510 bills this year and approved a $20 billion state budget. There were some wins, a few disappointments, and many cups of …

What we can learn from the pandemic that may help Utahns in times of Air Quality crisis. The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented times globally, to say the least. The overall impact is yet to be seen, including the emotional, physica …

Citizen lobbyists bring home the raw cream and butter. Symbria and Sarah Patterson of Red Acre Center in Cedar City are a mother and daughter team who founded the Utah Farm & Food Conference in Cedar City four years ago. They also lobby at the Stat …

Utah Legislature: The good, the bad and the ugly. The 2020 General Session of the Utah Legislature wrapped up on March 12 with 510 new bills passed into law. Here is a selection of bills and resolutions that affect environmental issues. (See more on Gr …

The 2020 General Session of the Utah Legislature wrapped up on March 12 with 510 new bills passed into law. Here is a selection of bills and resolutions that affect environmental issues. (See more on Grace Olscamp’s column, “At the Capitol,” this issue …