In the Rockies today, the Democratic National Convention kicks off today in Denver.
Presidential candidates Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are battling it out for the Rocky Mountain West states, with polls showing the candidates in a horse race in Colorado and Nevada.
Obama is ahead of McCain in New Mexico and McCain is in the lead in Montana, a state Obama intends to campaign in on the way to the convention this week.
Also in the news, the national debate about getting oil from Alberta's oilsands heats up, with President Bush applauding the secure source of energy, and the nation's mayors criticizing the environmental impact of the operations.
Shell, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Canada's Imperial and other operators in the oilsands region have plans in place that will ultimately excavate an area of land the size of New York state.
Oilsands mining is the province's fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, and consumes about four barrels of water for each barrel of oil produced.
Rockies today
U.S. national, local leaders divided over energy from Alberta's oilsands
President Bush is a strong advocate of pulling energy from Alberta's oilsands country, while U.S. mayors passed a resolution calling for a ban on the imported energy, which they said extracts too high an environmental price.
Seattle Times; Aug. 24
Presidential showdown in the Rocky Mountain West
The Mountain West is the nation's fastest-growing region, and the most in flux in this year's presidential race, with Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain running neck-and-neck in Nevada and Colorado, Obama with a small advantage in New Mexico, and McCain ahead a bit in Montana.
Washington Post; Aug. 25
Rising waters in Arizona reservoir buoys spirits, boosts business
Drought over the past decade dropped water levels in Lake Powell to some of the lowest levels the reservoir's history, but abundant snow in the West's mountains this year, coupled with more rain, have filled the nation's second-largest artificial reservoir to nearly two-thirds full, and boaters are flocking back to the reservoir that lies on the Arizona-Utah border.
New York Times; Aug. 23
Report: Climate shift under way in increasingly drier Southwest U.S.
University of Arizona researcher Stephanie McAfee's research on rainfall data in the Southwest United States found that the jet stream, which brings winter storms to that area of the U.S. have shifted north, taking much-needed rainfall with it. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; Aug. 24
BLM plan curtails energy operations on Utah land
The Bureau of Land Management released its proposed land-use plan for 1.7 million acres in Utah's Uinta Basin and Book Cliffs region on Friday that increased the number of acres off-limits to energy exploration to 186,917 acres, more than three times the draft plan proposed to protect.
Salt Lake Tribune; Aug. 23
Montana Superfund work results in mixed results for river
The latest data on the dam and mining sediment removal near Milltown indicate that while the work is revitalizing one stretch of the Clark Fork River in Montana, it is also spreading mining contamination down river at levels much higher than anticipated.
Missoulian; Aug. 24
Shuttered Nevada gold mine was source of mercury in Idaho
The Jerritt Canyon Gold Mine shut down its underground gold mine in Nevada earlier this month, following a temporary shut down ordered by the state earlier this year because the mine was emitting much more mercury than it was reporting.
Idaho Statesman; Aug. 23
Opinion
Wyoming on the right track with coalbed methane groundwater
The Wyoming state engineer's decision to make coalbed methane operators in the Powder River Basin prove that continued pumping of groundwater will eventually lead to the production of gas is a good thing, given that over the past decade, coalbed-methane operations brought more than 4 billion barrels of groundwater to the surface, not all of which was put to beneficial use.
Casper Star-Tribune; Aug. 25
Obama could learn a lot from Colorado's Democrats
The changing demographics of Colorado and other western states have put the region in play this presidential election year, and Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama should pay attention to how Democrats have won over the West. An essay.
The New Yorker; Aug. 25
Beyond the region
Vote Tuesday in Alaska hinges on salmon-or-gold question
In Alaska, where the headwaters of one of the world's greatest runs of Pacific salmon still exists, lies one of the greatest deposits of copper and gold some have estimated worth $300 billion, and on Tuesday the vote on Initiative 4 will determine if the state will put more stringent protections for the streams where salmon live.
New York Times; Aug. 23
Natural gas production on the rise in the U.S.
Oil production in the United States has been declining since the 70s, with a 21 percent decline in the last decade alone, but new technology has pumped up production of natural gas, sending prices nationally down 42 percent since July as supplies far outpace demand.
New York Times; Aug. 24
National debt focus of documentary, national town hall meeting
On Thursday night, a town hall meeting in Omaha was beamed live across the nation as Warren E. Buffett, one of the world's richest people; David M. Walker, who has traveled the nation warning of the perils of the United States' rising national debt, and three others debated the effect of the nation's debt on the long-term economy following the premiere of "I.O.U.S.A.," a documentary on the national debt.
Washington Post; Aug. 23
In depth
Foreign interest high in Democratic, Republican national conventions
More than 500 leaders, diplomats, party leaders and other representatives from 107 foreign countries are expected to attend the Democratic National Convention that opens today in Denver, and a similar number are expected to attend the Republican convention next week in Minnesota.
Denver Post; Aug. 25
Obama to make stops in Montana, other key states on way to Denver
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, named as Sen. Barack Obama's running mate over the weekend, is en route to Colorado today for the Democratic Party's national convention that kicks off today in Denver, while Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama kicked off a four-day tour of battleground states on his way to Colorado, that includes a stop in Montana.
New York Times; Aug. 25
Poll: Economy top issue for Nevada voters
Results of a new poll of Nevada voters found that for 38 percent of those surveyed, the economy was the issue of most concern; and 52 percent of those surveyed said Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama was better suited to tackle the nation's economic challenges, while 35 percent chose Republican John McCain to handle economic issues.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; Aug. 25
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