In the Rockies today, water concerns stall a Nevada solar project and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter urges water planners in his state to go slow on urban water transfers.
German-based Solar Millennium's proposal for two solar-energy projects in Nevada has ignited a water war in the rural Amargosa Valley.
The projects use technology that needs water -- and a lot of it -- to cool their systems, and residents are torn between what the dozens of jobs will mean to that area of Nevada and what the use of 20 percent of its annual water supply will do to its water wells.
In Colorado, where all available water in three of the state's four river basins has been allocated, Gov. Bill Ritter reiterated his position that trans-basin water diversions should occur only after conservation efforts and water-sharing agreements don't slake the need for water.
Rockies today
Solar power project's water needs stalls Nevada proposal
The plans of Germany-based Solar Millennium to build two large solar-power plants in Nevada's Amargosa Valley was good news indeed to the rural corner of Nevada where the national recession hit hard, but when it was revealed that the planned technology needed 1.3 billion gallons of water a year for cooling purposes--about 20 percent of the valley's available water--the company found itself in the midst of a Western water war.
New York Times; Sept. 30
Colorado governor urges caution in era of water transfers
At a conference on growth and water use in Colorado Tuesday, Gov. Bill Ritter said much has changed in the state's water picture over the past three decades, and he urged water planners to pause and consider the future before allocating more water to urban areas.
Durango Herald; Sept. 30
Alberta, Germany team up on geothermal, oilsands project
The University of Alberta and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Germany's largest scientific organization, are working together to find a way to tap into the Canadian province's geothermal resources to use that heat source in the process to pull oil out of oilsands in lieu of the natural gas now used.
Toronto Globe and Mail; Sept. 30
Congress designates N.M. peak as wilderness area
The peak of Chupadera Mountain in New Mexico's Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge was designated by Congress as a wilderness area.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); Sept. 30
Federal judge orders Montana forest to rework travel plan
U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ordered the Gallatin National Forest to rework a portion of its travel plan because the 2006 plan did not do enough to ensure the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area in the Montana forest would retain its wilderness characteristics.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Sept. 30
Vilsack: Idaho cities got urban forest cash too
Last week, Idaho and Wyoming senators sharply criticized the U.S. Forest Service for spending "wildland fire management" cash in Washington, D.C. parks, but Tuesday, U.S. Department of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was in Boise, and he explained that the $500 million listed under wildland fire management in the federal stimulus law was actually split evenly between fuels-reduction work and state and local programs to improve forest ecosystems, including urban parks.
Idaho Statesman; Sept. 30
Rio Tinto touts molybdenum find in Utah
At a mining conference, Eric Finlayson, head of exploration for Rio Tinto, said that the mining company's discovery of molybdenum underneath its huge open pit copper mine in Utah's Bingham Canyon may be the largest since the Climax and Henderson discoveries in Colorado.
Yahoo.com (Reuters); Sept. 30
Beyond the region
Federal judge tosses BLM's travel plan for California desert lands
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston rejected portions of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's plan for the West Mohave in California, ruling that the BLM's designation of roughly 5,000 miles of off-vehicle routes did not adequately assess the impact of those routes on the desert, its wildlife and archaeological sites.
Los Angeles Times; Sept. 30
Senate Democrats will debut their climate-change bill today
A bill to be introduced today in the U.S. Senate by California Sen. Barbara Boxer and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry will set a mandate to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels by the year 2020.
New York Times; Sept. 30
EPA takes aim at toxins
At a press conference Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson called for an overhaul of the 32-year-old statute governing toxins, and said the agency would ask Congress to enact a new, stronger law on the more than 80,000 chemicals that are now on the market, and Jackson said her agency will launch an immediate review of six chemicals that have recently raised concerns, including Bisphenol A, or BPA.
Washington Post; Sept. 30
Senate panel tosses two 'public option' measures for health care
Members of the Senate Finance Committee rejected two separate proposals that would have provided a public option for health care, with one measure rejected on a 15-to-8 vote and another on a 13-to-10 vote.
New York Times; Sept. 30
ICE investigation forces American Apparel to fire 1,800 workers
The Obama administration's completion of an investigation into American Apparel's work force begun by the Bush administration resulted in the firing of 1,800 workers at the California company's garment manufacturing facility in Los Angeles because their documents contained inconsistencies that could not be resolved, probably because they were fake.
New York Times; Sept. 30
In depth
Firefighters employ 'light on the land' tactics in Wyoming park
On the fire lines in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, firefighters are using MIST, minimal impact suppression tactic, which allows them to keep fires out of areas they don't want them to go but use them to treat areas they want.
Jackson Hole News & Guide; Sept. 30
Wet weather will change firefight in Montana
Wild winds blew the Gird End fire on the east side of Montana's Bitterroot Valley to nearly quadruple in size Monday night, but crews on that wildfire and others in northwestern Montana will get a hand from the cool, wet weather that arrived on Tuesday night.
Missoulian; Sept. 30
-
Fire on Montana's MacDonald Pass completely contained
Crews began mopping up the MacDonald Pass fire in Montana on Monday, and the area burned by the fire was again downsized, with the final estimate of 170 acres scorched by the fire, the cause of which is still under investigation.
Helena Independent Record; Sept. 30
|
