In the Rockies today, federal officials said the nation's energy solution may be blowing in the wind, a new theme for Western subdivisions that new residents can really "dig," and a federal appeals court hears a challenge of in-situ uranium mining.
A new Department of Energy report says wind energy could provide up to 20 percent of the nation's power by 2030, if transmissions lines are put in place and if there is a fivefold increase in the pace of installing wind farms.
In Utah and Colorado, a new theme in subdivisions is emerging.
As cities sprawl across lands formerly occupied by ancient civilizations, subdivision developers are incorporating the appreciation of artifacts and petroglyphs into the subdivision designs.
TheEconomist.com reports that a subdivision near Cortez, Colo., is marketing itself as "America's first archaeological development."
And as in-situ uranium mining efforts are ramping up in Wyoming, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard what lawyers are calling the nation's first challenge of National Regulatory Commission's approval of just such a project in New Mexico, that Navajo Nation residents said endangered the drinking water supply for thousands of people.
Rockies today
DOE report: Wind can supply one-fifth of nation's power by 2030
The Energy Department said Monday that meeting the target of 20 percent of the nation's power being produced by wind would require better technology in wind turbines, cost reductions, new transmission lines and a much faster pace of installation of wind farms, but if the 20 percent goal were reached by 2030, water use by the energy industry would drop 17 percent and the need for new coal-fired power plants could be averted.
Washington Post; May 13
BLM closes large area of Arizona monument to vehicles
Federal Bureau of Land Management officials said the three-year closure of 55,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona was needed to give the area time to recover from extensive environmental damage.
Arizona Republic; May 13
Archaeology-themed suburbs come to the American West
As subdivisions crop up across the American West, a new subdivision in Utah near Kanab will be built around archaeological finds, where digs for artifacts are planned to continue for decades, and near St. George, a cul-de-sac surrounds a rock with petroglyphs; and a site near Cortez, Colo., is being marketed as the nation's "first archaeological development," where residents may dig for artifacts but must bequeath what they find to a local museum.
The Economist; May 13
Federal appeals court hears challenge of N.M. uranium mine
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday in what lawyers said was the first-ever challenge of the National Regulatory Commission's approval of an in-situ uranium mine on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, and some of the judges said they were surprised the NRC had approved a plan that allowed a company to leach uranium out of an aquifer that supplies drinking water to thousands of residents on the Navajo Nation.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); May 13
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Questions about in-situ uranium mining loom large in Wyoming
With interest in in-situ uranium mining in Wyoming's Crook County on the rise, a group of concerned residents have formed the Ranchers and Neighbors Protecting Our Water, in affiliation with the Powder River Basin Resource Council, to educate people about in-situ uranium mining and to ensure the state identifies what aquifers could be affected by such activity and what the state is doing to protect the waters.
Casper Star-Tribune; May 13
Increase in pipeline capacity buoys gas production in the Rockies
The near-completion and partial opening of the 1,678-mile Rockies Express, a pipeline built from Meeker, Colo. to Ohio, helped boost natural gas production in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming to 8.2 billion cubic feet, a 1-billion-cubic-foot increase from last year.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); May 13
Hotter, drier weather forces Montana farmer to change crops
At the Burton K. Wheeler Center’s conference on climate change and its effect on agriculture and energy in Montana, farmers said they've stopped planting barley because the state's climate has become hotter and drier, and on the energy side of the conference, one analyst said Montana's steady wind made the state ripe for wind-energy development, while an official with a major energy supplier in the state said coal-fired energy is still needed in Montana.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; May 13
Opinion
FERC unqualified to do review of Utah water pipeline proposal
Even the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission admits it's unqualified to do a thorough environmental assessment of Utah's plan to build a 158-mile-long, 66-inch-diameter underground pipeline from Lake Powell to Washington County and a 38-mile-long, 30-inch pipeline from Washington to Iron County to ship water from Lake Powell to the three counties, a process that should include the best option: relying on conservation rather than a pipeline to ensure future water supplies.
Salt Lake Tribune; May 13
Protecting Idaho irrigators from Wyoming rivers bill imperative
The worst-case scenario for Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo's Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness bill would be if it gets tossed in with Wyoming's Snake Headwaters Legacy Act, a measure Idaho water users oppose unless an amendment is added to include language similar to that in the Hells Canyon Recreation Area Act of 1975, and Idaho lawmakers must work with Wyoming's congressional delegation to ensure both bills pass and Idaho's irrigators are protected.
Twin Falls Times-News; May 13
Guest column:
Montana deserves a voice in USFS, Plum Creek road deals
Montana has much at stake in Plum Creek's decisions on the future of the 1.3 million acres of lands it owns in the state, and the U.S. Forest Service should come clean about all its negotiations with Plum Creek over road easements.
Clark Fork Coalition and Hellgate Hunters and Anglers; May 13
Beyond the region
In Oregon speech, McCain criticizes Bush's inaction on climate change
Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was in Oregon on Monday, where he said he supported a "cap-and-trade" emissions program, where polluters could meet limits on greenhouse gas emissions either by reducing the emissions themselves or by buying credits from other companies, a position that places him firmly in step with the Democratic candidates for president.
New York Times; May 13
For some gas pumps, the price is just too high
At some mom-and-pop service stations with older gas pumps, such as Chip Colville's Chevron in Washington state, the rising price of fuel has outpaced the pump's $3.99-a-gallon limit, and it's too expensive to upgrade the pumps or to buy new ones.
Washington Post; May 13
Talks on Senate's housing aid bill falter
Negotiations between key Democratic and Republican senators on a plan to rescue homeowners in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure fell apart on Monday, with Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., unveiled his own housing bill that is similar to that passed by the U.S. House, which President Bush said he would veto.
Washington Post; May 13
Farmers say costs, not crop prices, drive planting decisions
Fertilizer costs have more than doubled since last year, and fuel costs are up 50 percent, making some California farmers forgo higher-priced crops such as corn and rice, and plant lower-priced crops such as safflower, that need less fertilizer, less water and less pesticides.
Los Angeles Times; May 13
Construction costs may preclude building of new nuclear power plants
The cost of building new nuclear power plants have spiraled to between $5 billion and $12 billion, double and even quadruple earlier estimates, due primarily to the rising cost of cement, steel and copper and a lack of skilled labor.
Salt Lake Tribune (Wall Street Journal); May 13
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