In the Rockies today, a nominee is named to head up the U.S. Bureau of Land Management; nuclear power headlines the U.S. House energy bill proposed by Republican lawmakers, and twin bills tackling hydraulic fracturing are introduced in Congress.
The president nominated Bob Abbey, who has 32 years of experience in state and federal public service, including a eight-year stint at the helm of the Nevada Bureau of Land Management, to head up the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
House Republicans are expected to introduce their American Energy Act, a counterproposal to the massive Waxman-Markey bill, sponsored by Democratic House members, that has already been approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The GOP bill relies heavily on nuclear power and proposes that the nation build 100 new nuclear reactors over the next 20 years, and calls for an increase in domestic energy production.
And on Tuesday, bills were introduced in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to put the process of hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method, under the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The bills also require energy companies to reveal the chemicals they mix with water and sand to fracture rock formations to release oil and gas.
Rockies today
Obama nominates Nevada man to head up BLM
President Obama nominated Bob Abbey, who helped complete a wilderness inventory for former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt a decade ago, to serve as the head of the Bureau of Land Management.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 10
Nuclear power, domestic oil production focus of House GOP bill
House Republicans drafted their version of a national energy bill that sets a goal of building 100 new nuclear-power plants over the next two decades and provides incentives to increase domestic oil and gas production, including authorizing development of oil resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
New York Times; June 10
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Proposed Idaho nuclear plant secures licensing funds
Idaho-based Alternate Energy Holdings Inc., which has proposed building a 1,600-megawatt nuclear power plant in Idaho, announced Friday that it had secured funds for the $70 million required to license land and water rights and to obtain a federal license for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the plant.
Twin Falls Times-News; June 10
National study finds decline in wind speeds in W. Montana
A preliminary study done of wind speeds across the United States indicates that wind speeds are decreasing, primarily along and east of the Mississippi River, although the study also indicated wind speeds were decreasing in Western Montana.
Denver Post (AP); June 10
Bills to ban 'fracking' introduced in U.S. Senate, House
The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, the FRAC Act, that was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House on Tuesday, would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to give the Environmental Protection Agency authority over the drilling process that involves injecting a stew of chemicals under high pressure into the ground to break into natural gas and oil reserves.
ProPublica.com; June 10
USFS to use pesticide to fight pine beetles in Montana's forests
The U.S. Forest Service will use Carbaryl, a common agricultural pesticide to try to stop the spread of pine-beetle infestations in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Lewis and Clark and Gallatin national forests, despite the fact that the pesticide can be harmful to fish, aquatic insects and some birds.
Helena Independent Record (AP); June 10
Housing crisis makes Phoenix prime location for human trafficking
In 2007, law enforcement discovered 194 "drop houses," places where smugglers could hold their drugs or people, in Phoenix; in 2008, they found 169; and with the housing crisis leaving many neighborhoods in the Arizona city virtually unoccupied, 68 drop houses have been found so far this year, housing a total of 1,069 illegal immigrants.
Wall Street Journal; June 10
Opinion
National parks may float through recession unscathed
The jump in Yellowstone National Park's visitation numbers for May might indicate that though the economy is down, tourism is still going strong.
Billings Gazette; June 10
Idaho's bighorn sheep law proves link between bad science, bad law
Had the 2009 Idaho Legislature had University of Idaho research results from 1994 in hand that clearly provided a link from pneumonia that killed a wild bighorn sheep to the domestic sheep that the ram had contact, perhaps they would not have passed a law that requires the state wildlife agency to come up with a plan to relocate or kill bighorn sheep that wander on to domestic sheep grazing allotments on federal lands.
Idaho Statesman; June 10
Molybdenum mine in Colorado will have long-term effects
The Dolores County Commission will begin discussing Thursday the request for a large molybdenum mine in the Colorado county, a project that would bring much-needed jobs and revenue to the county, but could also have a long-term effect on the environment, air- and water-quality, and protections must be put in place to protect the environment, the Dolores River and the airshed from any detrimental effect the mine could have.
Durango Herald; June 10
Beyond the Region
New study delves deeper into transportation's environmental impact
Environmental engineers Mikhail Chester and Arpad Horvath of the University of California looked at different modes of transportation using the emissions generated by the construction and maintenance of various types of transportation, the infrastructure required of each and the generation of the fuel required for each and found that, in certain circumstances, gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles were a better option than a commuter train.
Christian Science Monitor; June 10
Homes in S. California selling for less now than in 1989
In some areas of Southern California, the real estate market appears to have time traveled back a couple of decades, with homes selling for less now than they did in 1989.
Los Angeles Times; June 10
Efforts under way to protect Oregon's native amphibians
A dozen varieties of salamanders, eight frogs and two toads are listed as threatened or species of concern in Oregon, and the Oregon Zoo helped raise tadpoles of the Oregon spotted frog for release back into the wild.
Portland Oregonian; June 10
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