On the Cover


BY Suzanne Wagner

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February 27, 2017

Intuitive patterns for March 2017. Osho Zen Tarot: Harmony, Beyond Illusion, Fighting Medicine Cards: Coyote, Crow Mayan Oracle: Ben, Rhythm, Men Ancient Egyptian Tarot: Two of Cups, King of Cups, Nine of Swords Aleister Crowley Deck: Completion, Succe …

BY Staff

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February 27, 2017

Difficult families, bad behavior and spiders by Morag Shepherd. Throughout my life, sometimes the only way for me to exit a difficult experience is to psychologically die to—let go of—that event, that person. I mean, one doesn’t have to do anything, bu …

BY Katherine Pioli

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February 27, 2017

Celebrate and ancient rite of spring. Looking for a way to celebrate spring? You might give Norooz (also spelled Nowruz), the celebration of the Persian New Year, a try. An ancient practice, traced back to the Zoroastrian religion and celebrated across …

BY James Loomis

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February 27, 2017

Get a jump on spring. Within days of last month’s thaw, I was in the garden. Overwintered spinach and kale have repeatedly filled my plate and my belly. Some of the sweetest carrots I’ve ever had have been pulled straight from their winter slumber part …

BY Jane Lyon

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February 27, 2017

The Healthy Babies Bright Futures project catalyzes a plan to reduce landscape toxins. Most people these days would agree that chemical exposure is generally bad for our bodies, but putting that knowledge into practice, by taking away some of those che …

BY Charlotte Bell

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February 28, 2017

The past few years have given me a bit of a wake-up call. My body, which has always been very low maintenance, has been sending me a big message: “Stop taking me for granted!” Almost two years ago, my left hip was replaced because of hip displaysia. At …

BY Katherine Pioli

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February 28, 2017

January CATALYST’s cover was controversial for some. CATALYST, Thanks for providing a forum for alternative voices here in Utah. I’m a Mexican-American/Punjabi man who was raised mostly in Utah, as an other-than-Mormon, other-than-White and other-than- …

BY Elisabeth Luntz

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February 28, 2017

Monitoring our environment using the internet of things. Adrian Dybwad (pron. Dyb-wad), from South Africa, settled on the north bench of Draper, Utah in 2008 to follow his passion for hang gliding. Dybwad was drawn to this world-renowned bluff and home …

BY Katherine Pioli

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March 1, 2017

Local inventors accept the Bright Skies, Clean Air challenge. Joel Ewell is a Salt Lake native, and a tinkerer, one with an electric engineering background to be precise. His combination of mechanical know-how and decades of breathing bad air is what g …

BY Katherine Pioli

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February 28, 2017

Secretly under siege. Internal threats to public federal lands in Utah have been ramping up lately—the Public Lands Initiative proposed by Rep. Rob Bishop and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the sudden and recent sale of SITLA lands around the state and the inevi …

BY John deJong

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February 28, 2017

We’re off to gather story ideas. Sustainability—the property of biological systems to remain diverse and productive indefinitely—is the eco-buzz-word of the decade. Next thing you know, public companies that are eco-challenged or that make huge amounts …

BY Dennis Hinkamp

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February 28, 2017

Outrageous. All I’m hearing lately is the howling outrage from both sides of the thousand-sided political spectrum. Formerly sane friends are ordering me to cut and paste, forward, call, sign, write, yell at or hug someone if I care about what’s left o …

BY Staff

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March 8, 2017

Bike/pedestrian path nears completion. The development of Parley’s Trail over the past 16 years has led to a convenient and scenic way for bikers and pedestrians to traverse the Salt Lake Valley. The goal of Parley’s Trail is to create a multi-use, eas …

BY Katherine Pioli

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March 8, 2017

Mary Lou Prince, composer At 74 years old, Eleanor Roosevelt traveled through the Tennessee countryside, a $25,000 bounty placed on her head by the KKK, to teach a workshop on civil disobedience. Etty Hillesum, a brilliant Jewish Russian scholar, dared …

BY Katherine Pioli

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March 8, 2017

The things we take for granted. Did you know that only 100 years ago, in 1917, American women still did not have the right to vote?
That changed in 1920, due to the persistent efforts of that century’s suffragists—women who worked for equality.
But the …

BY Alice Toler

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March 8, 2017

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) sponsored six Phase 2 studies of MDMA, treating a total of 130 PTSD patients. Phase 3 research will include at least 230 patients, preferentially drawn from a pool of U.S. Armed Forces ve …

BY Alice Toler

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March 8, 2017

Startled by the immediate and widespread opposition to their proposed emergency ban of kratom in the fall of last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) backtracked on the action and opened a 45-day public comment period that ended on Dec …

BY Staff

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March 8, 2017

Dimple Dell Regional Park, a 646-acre Salt Lake County public wildlife preserve in Sandy, Utah, is identified as Open Space in the Salt Lake County Park System Master Plan. It is considered “the most pristine of all recreational property in the County’ …

BY Staff

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March 8, 2017

Meet Salt Lake City’s newest activist organization The SLC Air Protectors, inspired by Standing Rock, is a Native American-led inclusive organization to recruit volunteers, raise awareness, perform community service, support existing initiatives, and t …

BY Amy Brunvand

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March 8, 2017

Bison are nomadic and are going to go where they want to go. They are not easily contained with fences. – Bates & Hersey, 2016 Utah is a model for restoring wild bison to their ecological role, according to an article by scientists from the Utah Di …

BY Amy Brunvand

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March 8, 2017

In February, Governor Gary Herbert signed two resolutions opposing Utah national monuments: HCR11, “Urging the President to Rescind the Bears Ears national Monument Designation,” and “HCR 12, “Urging Federal Legislation to Reduce or Modify the Boundari …

BY Amy Brunvand

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March 8, 2017

The Utah Rivers Council (URC) called fake news on an announcement from the Utah Division of Water Resources that the Bear River Project could be delayed due to slower than expected population growth. A press release from URC noted that in fact, the Bea …

BY Amy Brunvand

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March 8, 2017

Last month the City Council of Moab, Utah passed a resolution committing to 100% renewable electricity by 2032. The city cited the threat of climate change to the booming recreation economy as a reason for the transition to clean energy, and regional h …

BY Amy Brunvand

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March 8, 2017

The 2017 Conservation in the West poll from Colorado College asked a surprising question: “Donald Trump has said that he will follow in the footsteps of President Theodore Roosevelt, the President who created the first national parks and national monum …

BY Amy Brunvand

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March 8, 2017

Utah, a model for bison restoration Bison are nomadic and are going to go where they want to go. They are not easily contained with fences. – Bates & Hersey, 2016 Utah is a model for restoring wild bison to their ecological role, according to an ar …