December 2018

Logan is the first of the PM2.5 nonattainment areas in Utah to meet federal air quality standards Last month, Logan, Utah achieved what often seems impossible: a clean air rating from the EPA. Like many of Utah’s mountainous urban spaces, Logan was lon …

In November, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and other Utah elected officials filed two amicus briefs in support of lawsuits to restore the original boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. The two briefs make si …

For many people, the word “psychedelics” still conjures images of rainbows, tie-dye and 1960s music festivals. But Michael Pollan’s latest book, How to Change Your Mind, tells a different story— about both the origins of modern American psychedelic use …

Cache Valley has become the first air-quality nonattainment area in the state of Utah to meet federal standards for PM2.5 (small air pollution particulates that cause respiratory and cardiovascular disease). How they did it: vehicle emissions testing, …

Memories of a Salt Lake City neighborhood built on, and then lost to, industry. The perceived homogeneity of a city is upheld by the undoing of unique places within it. For Salt Lake City, a current example can be seen in the debate over the future of …

Congratulations to the University of Utah which has earned Gold designation as a Bicycle Friendly University from the League of American Bicyclists! In 2017 the U created a new position for an Active Transportation Manager and hired planner Ginger Cano …

Jung Society of Utah founder Machiel Klerk passes directorship to Adam Nisenson. It began with a dream—literally. Almost a decade ago, Machiel Klerk, a licensed Jungian mental health therapist who specializes in dream work, had a dream one night about …

The State of Utah plans to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a state-specific rollback of the 2001 “Roadless Rule” that limits forest road building associated with industrial logging. The Roadless Rule was implemented to promote stewardsh …

Calling all lovers and growers of “real” food: Meet Joel Salatin, Sally Fallon, Gary Paul Nabhan and others at the 2019 Utah Farm and Food Conference in Cedar City. The Utah Farm Conference is back for its third year, and the organizers are once again …

Baby aspen trees have sprouted in areas burned by the 71,673-acre human-caused Brian Head Fire of 2017. Aspens are a disturbance-dependent species that grows from existing roots after fire reduces shade from conifers. The quick return of aspens provide …

Bike Utah is on a mission to integrate bicycling into everday culture. My day job is as a middle school physical education teacher and for the last three years running I have happily turned my class over for one week a year to Bike Utah, a local non-pr …

Researchers at Utah State University have discovered an astonishing diversity of native bees living within the original boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). A four-year study identified 660 different bee species including …

Undoing the foundation of how we do everything. I’ve played music most of my life. As a member of the Salt Lake Symphony, I practice most days. I practice so that my embouchure (the way I engage my facial muscles in order to get a sound out of my instr …

Shopping therapy may (or may not) cure your sleep woes In young adulthood, when we first move out on our own and most of our possessions can fit in our cars, a mattress is a weighty investment. By design, it is large and bulky. It’s burdensome to move. …

Hey, Mr. Abbey, can you hear me down there?” writes Amy Irvine. Irvine, author of Trespass: Living on the Edge of the Promised Land (2008), is speaking to Edward Abbey (1927-1989), that misanthropic libertarian-leaning desert rat whose passionate defen …

In 2008, Salt Lake Acting Company Co-founder Nancy Borgenicht came to me with the brilliant idea of opening our theatre in December, when it was normally sitting empty, to produce professional children’s theatre in an intimate (200 seat) setting. While …

2018 It’s over, let it go Osho Zen Tarot:  Clinging to the Past, Healing Medicine Cards: Otter Mayan Oracle: Imix, Ik Ancient Egyptian Tarot: The Tower, The Fool, Temperance Aleister Crowley Deck: Success, Knight of Wands, Death Healing Earth Tarot: Gr …

December 1 Sunrise: 7:32am.; sunset: 5pm. Av. high: 42º; low: 25º. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts rain for northern Utah Dec. 4-14; rain and snow 14-22; and snow showers 23-31. December 2 Buying new Christmas lights? LEDs consume 80% less energy tha …

Our relentless conversion and degradation of remaining natural habitats is eroding overall human welfare for short-term private gain. —Andrew Balmford et.al., 2002 Utah legislator Ken Ivory (R West Jordan) wants the State to hire a consultant in order …

In the Utah State Legislature, Rep. Joel Briscoe (D-Salt Lake City) was overwhelmingly re-elected. He is drumming up public and political support for a bill to tax greenhouse gas pollution. The non-partisan bill, based on an idea from the Citizens’ Cli …

In January, newly elected Democrats will be the House majority in Washington and Utah Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT-1) will no longer chair the House Resources Committee that oversees legislation dealing with America’s public lands. Bishop, who formerly …

If you are someone who aspires to achieve zero waste and a low carbon footprint, the holiday season may seem like a minefield of consumption and waste. However, there are steps you can take to ensure that your holiday entertaining has a lighter impact …

With the new Congress not yet in session, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is nonetheless under investigation for ethics violations and there are likely to be more such investigations for government accountability. Watch out for attempts to force through …

Fall and winter travel is easier than ever, now that daylight saving time lasts longer than daylight losing time. Even after the great fall-back darkness descends, you can find plenty of greatly off-season travel. You just need to remember that traveli …

Thanks to a lawsuit against race-based gerrymandering, two Navajo tribal members, Kenneth Maryboy and Willie Grayeyes, were elected to the San Juan County Commission. Both of them support the original boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument. Not ple …