This Subsidy May Not Cost Much

September 28, 2022

When California passed legislation banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, and 17 states legally follow California standards, many observers questioned the practicality of the lofty goal. There are not enough electric cars made in the world to replace California’s 30 million cars, nor the batteries, charging stations, or disposal facilities. That gets to […]

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Green Energy Faces the Same Hurdles

September 20, 2022

The “agreement” supposedly reached between Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and his party leaders to pass a major permitting reform bill has fallen apart, as discussed last week. But it also highlighted one of the most consequential debates in modern politics. Several media pundits were always skeptical about that agreement (which Democratic leaders used to convince […]

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The Education of Joseph Manchin

September 16, 2022

The author of one of America’s most famous autobiographies, The Education of Henry Adams, wrote that “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin must be wondering where his influence stops, as his harsh education in politics continues. Manchin is often viewed as the most important […]

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Gasoline Has Nothing To Do With Fire

September 7, 2022

A couple weeks ago a letter to the editor appeared in this paper and six others around the state, asserting that “Removing trees from Colorado forests will not prevent wildfires from burning.” Really? As if removing all the wood from a campfire would not help put it out? The letter was written by a guy […]

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Just Kidding -We Weren’t Serious

August 31, 2022

A quantum physicist named Erwin Schrodinger, in a 1935 discussion with Albert Einstein, suggested a concept known as Schrodinger’s Cat, whereby an animal is both alive and dead, depending on unknowable hypothetical circumstances. There is a modern variation, in which someone makes a snide remark and then decides whether to say he is serious or only joking, after seeing people’s […]

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This is Going to be Big

August 25, 2022

John Muir, founder of the modern environmental movement, spent much of his life working to preserve Yosemite as a national park. He later wrote, “As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the […]

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Who Needs Wyoming Anyway?

August 12, 2022

The Bureau of Land Management has finalized its purchase of a 35,670-acre ranch southwest of Casper, Wyoming, its largest-ever land acquisition in that State. The Marton ranch, stretching across Natrona and Carbon Counties, has been on the BLM’s wish list for years, and the deal was sealed last year when the Land and Water Conservation […]

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Do They Read the Daily Sentinel?

August 5, 2022

The headline read, “Supreme Court Reins in EPA on Clean Power Plan.” On the last day of its recent session, the court released its long-anticipated ruling in West Virginia vs. EPA, four consolidated cases representing 19 states, numerous labor unions, utilities, rural electrics, manufacturers, business groups, and others. The court finally settled the decade-old debate, […]

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Protecting What Is Already Protected

July 29, 2022

The New York Times recently opined that the endangered species law could be used to stop oil and gas production nationwide, because no matter where the drilling is, it contributes to climate change everywhere. Thus, sea turtles in Florida or monk seals in Hawaii could be the excuse to shut down oil drilling Wyoming. The […]

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Still Trying to Understand the West

July 22, 2022

At the age of 97, former President Jimmy Carter has stepped into a dispute about a short gravel road to an isolated village in Alaska. The road would connect King Cove, population 750, to the small air strip at Cold Bay, with access by air to Anchorage, 620 miles away. There is no other access […]

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