February 2018

The tail-wagging, lovable and loyal dog, man’s best friend, will be jumping into all of our lives and laps on February 16, 2018 for the Chinese New Year. This will be a year filled with hearts, licks, barks and wet noses, a simpler year than the past t …

Though unattractive, the century-old refineries to the north of Salt Lake are more than pulling their weight regarding air quality improvements and emissions reductions. When it comes to placing the blame on bad air quality, it’s easy to point the fing …

Better Boundaries is the answer. It took over an hour for the crowd of 2,000 to get into the West High auditorium for Representative Chris Stewart’s first town meeting after last November’s election. At first the crowd was orderly. Then a huge screen d …

Performance science brings the conversation about climate change home to our hearts at this year’s Intermountain Sustainability Summit. There is a fundamental disconnect, believes Robert Davies, associate professor of physics at Utah State University, …

A play of options Exploring how love—its manifestations, iterations, challenges and blessings—is unbounded by blood, age, color, gender or faith. I try to be appropriate. I try not to poke at people. I try to keep my soft bits under armor. But early on …

Republican politicians and the Trump Administration are trying a particularly sneaky strategy to undermine conservation land management and environmental protections by promising “local control.” In recent months, this phrase has popped up again and ag …

Journalists at the New York Times have uncovered persuasive evidence that Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument was downsized specifically to accommodate uranium mining. An article published in January examined mining claims registered in a government da …

Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy received a “get out of jail free” card when a federal judge declared a mistrial after federal prosecutors failed to turn over evidence relevant to the case. Bundy was charged with conspiracy and assault related to an event i …

Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s FY 2019 Budget Recommendation calls for “flexibility to use Transportation Investment Funds (TIF) for all modes of transportation.” This would represent a major breakthrough for sustainability in Utah. Right now the Utah Co …

A monthly compendium of random wisdom for the natural world and beyond. By Diane Olson, Anna Zumwalt and Greta deJong. Feb 1  1 Sun rise: 7:37am, sun set: 5:45pm. Monthly averages: low, 25 degrees; high, 44; precipitation: 1.5 in.; snowfall: 10 in. Feb …

Do not hold back what you have to offer even if you feel as if what you offer is not enough. Osho Zen Tarot: Healing, Innocence, Rebirth Medicine Cards: Mountain Lion, Whale Mayan Oracle: Caban, Center, Mystical Power Ancient Egyptian Tarot: Five of Cu …

Choose bioregional seed for best resilience. Imagine yourself curled up on the couch while winter still dominates the outdoors, salivating over visions of future vegetable grandeur leaping from the pages. “This is my year,” you proclaim, as selections …

The Buddha on 9th. Buddhists are a rather serene lot, and that serenity came to the test recently when vandals threw a 25-pound rock through the face of the terra-cotta Buddha statue in the shrine in Benjamin Dieterle’s front garden at 1917 South 900 E …

Did you know that at the rate we are tossing out garbage, our landfill will be full in 10 years? Lesha Earl, public education and outreach coordinator for the Trans-Jordan Landfill, teaches people how to improve their recycling skills. She and a collea …

No squeak, no oil. Call today. It’s February, and the 2018 Legislative Session is in full swing. Here are a few bills we at HEAL Utah are working to support. These are bills we believe we can make a difference on. If you support these bills, use this i …

Environmental news from around the state and the West. “Local control” a sneaky strategy to kill environmental protection Republican politicians and the Trump Administration are trying a particularly sneaky strategy to undermine conservation land manag …

As a kid, I never wanted a pony; I wanted a robot. As proof that we never really grow up, one of my life goals has been to go to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Imagine, if you will, a drunken mob of 180,000 people with laser eyes loc …

The 2018 General Session of the Utah Legislature runs from January 22 to March 8, 2018. Here’s what you need to do: 1) find out who represents you and know how to contact them https://le.utah.gov/GIS/ findDistrict.jsp 2) Sign up for email alerts and so …