Having pounded in his share of posts (and edited an anthology of writing about fences) David Romtvedt stretches some perspective on history, poetry, and neighbors.
The city of Keene, tucked away behind the low hills of far southwestern New Hampshire, has embarked on a incredible, town-wide environmental campaign. The Boston Globe tells us how the citizens of Keene are attempting, as the town's city planner puts it, "to make (environmentalism) part of the fabric of the city."
Keene's efforts began with the election of Michael E. J. Blastos as mayor. Now 75, Mayor Blastros says he "wanted to do something about" global warming. "I saw my kids' future in it," the mayor said.
So the town pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. It fuels its 78-vehicle city fleet with biodiesel. It's switched out its traffic lights to high-efficiency bulbs. It heats one city building with geotermal energy. The city has passed a no-idling ordinance (tough to enforce in a New England winter).
"We are saying one tiny community in southwest New Hampshire can make a difference," John A. MacLean, Keene's city manager, told the Globe.
There are hearings this week in Nevada on the federal government's plan to bury nuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain (above). The mountain sixteen miles from California is still the Energy Department's preferred choice , according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Yucca Mountain debate has been going on, it seems, forever. The hearings this week are on various environmental impact studies. "The federal plan to bury nuclear waste at a dump in Yucca Mountain has encountered one setback after another in the courts," reported the Times. "It is hated in much of the West. It looks like it is in deep political trouble in Congress. And a number of presidential candidates have attacked the dump."
Still, the Energy Department is plodding ahead with plans to bury 70 metric tons of spent commercial fuel and nuclear weapons waste in the Nevada wasteland. There's a hearing Monday (today) from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas.
Schneider runs through the history of the 1872 law and explains the extremely favorable terms the federal government gave to companies that mined in the west. It's personal for Schneider, whose family owns land affected by the law.
Schneider also explains the reform that Obama said he opposed. (There was no mention of the law in the Nevada debate Thursday night, which is too bad.) Backers of the reform say it was the support of hunters and fishermen that helped pass the bill through the House.
Sen. Barack Obama has said he thinks revisions to the Mining Law of 1872 passed by the House are too onerous on companies. Campaigning in Nevada, Obama said the House proposal to impose a four percent royalty on mining companies operating on federal land was too high. Obama's position was a hit with the National Association of Manufacturers. "We couldn't agree more," NAM said in its ShopFloor blog. The environmental blog Grist couldn't agree less.
Former state legislator Roger Noe reports more sludge on the highway and hacking coughs in Eastern Kentucky. Time is running out for those who "keep on tickin.'"
A human rights leader in urban Oakland, California, proposes shifting environmental activism to help those who've suffered from industrial pollution the most: poor people. Eco-equity makes sense for rural America, too.
Much of the country is having a very dry summer. The drought (and heat) are killing cattle in the Dakotas and reducing crop yields in Ohio and Kentucky. Parts of Minnesota were just declared federal disaster areas. The Yonder shows you the latest drought maps.