Mourning our fallen: Wind storm topples urban forest An intense wind storm that hit northern Utah on September 8 toppled thousands of big, old trees, decimating historic groves in Liberty Park, the Salt Lake Cemetery and the University of Utah. Gusts of up to 112 miles per hour were generated by “down slope wind” when […]
In the 20 years from 1999 to 2019, the population of Utah has grown by nearly a million people. But unlike many states, Utah had a plan to cope, thanks to Envision Utah, a nonprofit that brings business, government and community leaders together to consider Utah’s future. In 1997, group began hosting public meetings in […]
Conserve Southwest Utah (CSU) says that the Lake Powell Pipeline and the Northern Corridor Highway through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve are two of the most environmental damaging projects to threaten Southwest Utah in many years. Public comment periods are open on both projects though early September. CSU has prepared helpful guides for public comments: […]
Congressman Ben McAdams (D-UT-4) succeeded in adding language to the annual Energy and Water Appropriations Bill to prohibit spending on explosive nuclear testing. Generations of Utah downwinders got cancer because of exposure to radioactive fallout from hundreds of nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site that took place from 1951 to 1992. Other bills before […]
HEAL Utah has issued a scathing response to a business plan which was issued by the Utah Inland Port Authority in June. The Port Authority claims the plan addresses community concerns about pollution and environmental impact. However, HEAL Utah says it uses vague sustainability language to define goals and lacks specific environmental performance or accountability […]
A toxic algal bloom was discovered in the North Fork of the Virgin River which runs through Zion National Park after a pet dog died from playing in the water. Toxic algae (aka cyanobacteria) contain a potent neurotoxin that can cause nausea, liver damage tingling, numbness and seizures. The algae occur naturally, but usually in […]
A Blueprint Jordan River plan, published in 2008, described a compelling Big Idea of “a 50-mile, unobstructed blue-green trail from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake for boaters, cyclists, pedestrians and wildlife enthusiasts.” Since then most gaps in the Jordan River trail have been connected and river restoration projects have made the neglected river […]
Utah Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-1) may not be running for reelection, but he’s not through causing public lands mischief. In July, Bishop added a surprise amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in order to transfer 850,000 acres from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to become part of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) […]
I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is. – Greta Thunberg Don’t Bomb the Bighorns Utah Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-1) may not be running for reelection, but he’s not through causing public lands mischief. In July, Bishop added a surprise amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act […]
A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oil and gas lease sale scheduled for September 2020 threatens to drastically alter the landscape of southern Utah, affecting more than 114,000 acres near Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bears Ears, Labyrinth Canyon, Deadhorse Point State Park and the Green River. Ironically, Utah oil and gas production has been in […]
Utah Senator Mike Lee, an advocate for privatization of federal public lands, has been boasting that a transfer of federal water infrastructure is a “minor miracle” that will give “local control” to Emery County and Uinta Basin water districts. In a news release, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt claims that the transfer will “save taxpayer dollars […]
In response to a temporary slump in oil prices during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, the Trump Administration gave the fossil fuel industry a huge handout by reducing royalties for oil and gas companies operating on federal public lands. Royalties are a percentage of the value of extracted fossil fuels, paid back to the federal government with […]
In June the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education passed a resolution to go carbon-free by 2050. This fall, the district will form a Sustainability Leadership Task Force to develop a plan and track the district’s carbon footprint. The resolution also asks the Task Force to consider sustainability initiatives including green purchasing, waste […]
Acclaimed Utah author Terry Tempest Williams has previously written eloquently about The Open Space of Democracy (2010), but her new book, Erosion, is a tour-de-force. Williams is a witness to civic erosion and a fierce advocate for citizen engagement. Tied together by themes of political decay, her collection of essays offers an insider’s view of […]
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released a Lake Powell Pipeline Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the multi-billion dollar water boondoggle to send Colorado River water to the Saint George area. An appendix on environmental justice, submitted by the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians eloquently opposes the project with these words: “All elements of […]
