We have been deluged by responses to Barry Wynsma's thoughtful essay on Forest Service leadership - or the lack thereof. Provided here is some feedback on the essay.
W.V. "Mac" McConnell writes from Florida. He is a U.S. Forest Service retiree whose Power Point presentations have appeared on our website many times. His latest efforts are nearby: an updated version of his earlier "Timber Resource Management" Power Point and a fascinating photograph, "One Landscape: Four Views," that shows what is happening on adjacent public and private forests at Deep Creek, near Townsend, Montana.
Editor's comment concerning Mike Petersen's (Executive Director - Lands Council) Response To Dr. Tom Bonnicksen's Essay, "Death Of A Forest: Why We Should Care"
WHAT'S HOT
World misled over glacier meltdown: Report
Economic Times
A warning that most of the Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 owing to climate change is likely to be retracted after the United Nations body that issued it admitted to a series of scientific blunders. Read More...
Proposed tougher ozone standard worries Intermountain West drillers
New York Times/Greenwire
More than a dozen Western counties with high levels of oil and gas drilling could face tougher requirements for ozone pollution under new proposed federal standards rolled out last week, adding another dose of regulatory uncertainty to an industry already facing tougher scrutiny over its air emissions. Read More...
Good news for the world: Bad news for official climate science body
Telegraph.co.uk
It’s the best news of the decade so far, but not for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the official ultimate authority on climate science, for it poses a much greater threat to its credibility than the much-hyped “Climategate” emails and puts further questionmarks over its embattled chairman, Dr Rajendra Pachauri. Read More...
'No basis' for excluding climate impacts from NEPA reviews -- CEQ
Greenwire
The White House Council on Environmental Quality has found "no basis" for excluding greenhouse gas emissions from National Environmental Policy Act reviews. Read More...
U.S. bird listing to hit energy, wind industries
Reuters
Efforts to protect an iconic bird could disrupt oil, natural gas and wind energy development in the U.S. West and add to the Democratic Party's green woes ahead of the 2010 congressional elections. Read More...
Arizona Republic
Calling nuclear power "the cornerstone of our clean-energy future," Gov. Jan Brewer threw her political weight behind the construction of additional nuclear plants in Arizona at the Roundtable's recent Business Summit of the West. Read More...
Decision looms on Murkowski amendment to block EPA rules
The Hill
An aide to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Monday that Murkowski has not yet decided whether to offer an amendment this week that would block EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Read More...
CLIMATE NEWS
30 years of global cooling are coming, leading scientist saysFOX News
From Miami to Maine, Savannah to Seattle, America is caught in an icy grip that one of the U.N.'s top global warming proponents says could mark the beginning of a mini ice age. Read More...
U.S. Senate not seen passing climate bill in 2010
New York Times/Reuters
U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan said on Tuesday he did not think the Senate would pass climate change legislation this year, but instead would focus on a separate energy bill that would have more bipartisan support. Read More...
New York Times/ClimateWire
Climate change may have sparked its first border war. Two states are in early maneuvers for a potential legal battle over one's effort to curtail carbon and another's aspiration to become an energy "powerhouse." Read More...
AFBF resolution opposes cap and trade
Agweek
Delegates to the American Farm Bureau Federation convention unanimously passed a resolution in opposition to cap-and-trade legislation and in support of legislation to suspend the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Read More...
Rasmussen talks candidly about climate change
Farm & Ranch Guide
Though Kimball Rasmussen, CEO of Deseret Power, did not use the term “climategate,” he did declare there is no subject at this time which “stands greater in importance - not to mention confusion, hype and hysteria - than the topic of climate change.” Read More...
Carbon trading may reach $395b in 2014
Environmental Leader
The connection between carbon capture and sequestration and the carbon emissions trading market is growing, as carbon credits accrued from CCS plants will be traded at carbon exchanges, generating more revenue for CCS project developers, according to a new report from ABI Research. Read More...
New Mexico: Farmington to consider joining lawsuit
The Daily Times
City councilors could discuss privately whether the city should join a lawsuit filed last week that challenges state regulators' authority to cap greenhouse gas emissions. Read More...
South Carolina DHEC bucks pollution rules
The State
South Carolina’s environmental agency is fighting federal rules to control greenhouse gas pollution that contributes to global warming. Read More...
ENERGY SECURITY
Companies give up oil, gas leases along Rocky Mountain Front
Great Falls Tribune
Five exploration companies have agreed to relinquish eight federal oil and natural gas leases on 29,000 acres along the Rocky Mountain Front, the largest withdrawal since federal legislation was passed in 2006 to protect the area from mineral development. Read More...
Ammoland.com
Following an industry decision to relinquish oil and gas leases on approximately 29,000 acres of federal public lands in Montana, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today praised the action. Read More...
Study finds no dangerous air pollutants at natural gas sites
Wall Street Journal
A three-day survey of more than 100 natural gas production facilities in Fort Worth, Texas found no dangerous levels of air pollution, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said on Tuesday. Read More...
French giant latest to grab shale access
Houston Chronicle
French oil giant Total on Monday became the latest major oil company to cut a deal for access to prolific shale gas fields in the U.S., but it probably won't be the last. Read More...
Solar energy in Oklahoma could have hot future
NewsOK.com
In the heat of an Oklahoma summer, it often seems like the sun never stops shining. Read More...
In reversal, federal regulators now propose to limit oil and gas commodities
Washington Post
With the price of gas at the pump at its highest point in well over a year, federal regulators moved Thursday to prevent excessive speculation by financial traders from driving the cost of oil even higher. Read More...
Turmoil in power sector
Wall Street Journal
Falling U.S. electricity production in the past two years is frustrating the utility industry and shaking up timetables for some major infrastructure projects. Read More...
Pickens reduces order for wind turbines, puts Panhandle wind farm on hold
Dallas Morning News
T. Boone Pickens has cut his massive order for wind turbines from GE by more than half. Read More...
Kan. utility files new application for coal plant
ABC News
Sunflower Electric has filed a new application to build coal-fired power plant in SW Kansas. Read More...
First Solar acquires Edison Mission Group development pipeline
RenewableEnergyWorld.com
First Solar Inc. announced that it has has completed the acquisition of a portion of Edison Mission Group's solar project development pipeline. The utility-scale solar projects are located in California and the Southwest. Read More...
Feds recommend approval for 2 Rockies gas lines
Denver Post/AP
Federal regulators are recommending approval of two natural gas pipelines that would sharply increase fuel shipments from the Rockies to population centers in the Midwest and on the West Coast. Read More...
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Underwater rocks could be used for massive carbon storage on America's East Coast
mongabay.com
Researchers writing in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) have announced a number of locations in the East Coast of the United States that appear prime for CCS. Read More...
TMCnet
GE has reportedly partnered with the Chinese city of Yangzhou to build smart grid demonstration center, which will include wireless-enabled smart meters, home energy management systems and smart appliances set up in a 100,000-square-foot lab. Read More...
Anadarko project gets more oil from Wyo. field
Casper Star-Tribune
Anadarko Petroleum says it has squeezed an additional 10 million barrels of oil from the old Salt Creek field north of Casper since beginning an enhanced oil recovery effort in 2003. Read More...
ExxonMobil extends life of Texas field
Forbes
ExxonMobil announced it will recover an additional 40 million barrels of oil at the Hawkins Field in northeast Texas , equal to the annual energy needs of more than one million Texas households. Read More...
Geothermal drilling safeguards imposed
New York Times
The United States Energy Department, concerned about earthquake risk, will impose new safeguards on geothermal energy projects that drill deep into the Earth’s crust. Read More...
U.S. solar company to build power plants in China
ABC News
U.S. solar power company eSolar Inc. strikes major deal to build power plants in China desert. Read More...
MPBN News
Central Maine Power's plans to install new automated "smart meters" will result in the loss of 141 jobs, union officials say. Read More...
OPINION/COMMENTARY
Opinion: Pipeline projects will be boost for Wyo, industryCasper Star-Tribune
Two proposed natural gas pipelines that would greatly expand capacity for Wyoming producers have been recommended for approval by the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Read More...
NEWS FROM THE STATES
Arizona: Amid state's push for solar power, water-supply worries arise
Arizona Republic
Arizona can offer solar-energy developers legendary sun-drenched skies and thousands of empty square miles but not nearly so ample a supply of a third essential resource: water. Read More...
Arizona: Western Wind gets nod for turbine sites
Reuters
Canada's Western Wind Energy Corp said it received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority for 15 turbine locations for its wind and solar energy project based in Arizona. Read More...
California: Governor breathes life back into drilling project
Daily Sound
The once dead Tranquillon Ridge offshore drilling project got a jolt of life when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed reviving the controversial plan that some say could pump over $1 billion into state coffers over the next 14 years. Read More...
Colorado coal miners fear losing jobs if access to federal lands curbed
Denver Post
Colorado coal miners are grappling with the above-ground parrying of state and federal politicians over protection of the nation's forests. Read More...
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Garfield County commissioners on Monday reassured natural gas developers that they don’t plan to regulate the growing practices of remote and centralized well fracturing. Read More...
Colorado Dems want to raise renewable energy standard
Denver Post/AP
Colorado Democratic state lawmakers want to increase the amount of electricity coming from renewable sources, saying the move will help the environment and create jobs. Read More...
Colorado: Geothermal lease meeting draws standing room crowd
The Mountain Mail
The geothermal lease-sale meeting Thursday night drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Buena Vista Community Center. Read More...
Colorado: Noble Energy to buy assets from Suncor
Oil & Gas Journal
Noble Energy Inc. agreed to pay $494 million to Suncor Energy Inc. for oil and gas properties in Colorado. Read More...
IdahoStatesman.com
The Payette County Planning and Zoning Commission approved a change to the county's comprehensive plan, giving the Eagle-based nuclear developer Alternative Energy Holdings Inc. a step forward. Read More...
Montana: Fla. company pursues 100 MW wind farm
ABC News/AP
A Florida wind developer said that he wants to build a 100-megawatt wind farm on state land in northeast Montana. Read More...
Montana: MATL could unleash torrent of wind projects
Great Falls Tribune
A biting wind whipped across the snow-covered Montana prairie as Clayton Larsen and John Mattheis took soil samples from 30 feet below the surface north of Conrad late last week. Read More...
Nevada: After four years, the Spring Valley Wind project nears EA review
Ely Times
It might seem like federal regulators are fast-tracking the development of Nevada's first commercial wind farm. But the 160-megawatt Spring Valley Wind project has actually been in the works for over four years. Read More...
Los Angeles Times/AP
The Bureau of Land Management plans an oil and gas lease sale on federal lands in New Mexico and three other states on Wednesday. Read More...
New Mexico tribe looks at using land for solar energy company
DigitalJournal.com
New Mexico's Jemez Pueblo tribe is working a deal to use their land for solar energy production. They will be the first Native American tribe to use solar energy as a way to make revenue. Read More...
Texas: Judge orders halt to work on wind transmission project
Houston Chronicle
A ruling by an Austin judge will freeze work on high voltage power lines to take electricity from West Texas wind energy projects to other parts of the state. Read More...
Billings Gazette
Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky program awarded money to support three community-based Wyoming renewable energy projects in 2009. Read More...
Wyoming county considers wind farm moratorium
Billings Gazette
Converse County will again consider a landowner group's request for a moratorium on wind development, not long after the County Commission rejected an earlier moratorium proposal. Read More...
KUDO OF THE WEEK
Rep. Bishop: When it comes to cap-and-trade, give federalism a chance
Daily Caller
Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01), the Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, asks proponents to give Federalism a chance, and not impose cap and trade on states choosing to address climate change in a different fashion. Read More...
OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK
ClimateGate's Michael Mann received stimulus fundsWall Street Journal
A scientist in the middle of the ClimateGate scandal received economic stimulus funds last June. Read More...
human need to use natural resources is fundamental to our continued presence on earth."