Can’t Win for Losing

December 22, 2017

If we continue to burn coal to generate electricity, we might destroy the Earth’s capacity to support life. If we switch to natural gas, then fracking might poison the water and set our faucets on fire. Biomass sounds good, but burning it also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Hydroelectric power requires dams, which destroy […]

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Recalling a Monumental Tradition

December 12, 2017

President Trump has announced significant changes in the boundaries of several National Monuments, including the two most controversial in the West: Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, both in Utah. Whichever side of this controversy you are on, there is no bigger news in the West this month. Based on recommendations from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, […]

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Time to Get Off the Gravy Train

December 7, 2017

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recently issued a directive to end a 20-year string of “sue and settle” cases that have funneled untold millions of tax dollars to environmental organizations. Predictably, those groups and their allies are apoplectic about it. Many of these groups have grown from grassroots citizen movements to gigantic cash-flush conglomerates, with much […]

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Anybody Else, but Not You

November 29, 2017

Imagine that you own a house on a one-acre lot. The neighboring lot is vacant, and zoning rules allow anybody to build a similar house on it. So you decide to buy it and build a house for your daughter so she can live closer. Sorry, not allowed. The zoning rule actually means that any […]

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No More Meetings – With Anyone, Ever

October 24, 2017

The front-page headline screamed in 40-point type: “EPA chief Pruitt met with many corporate execs. Then he made decisions in their favor.” A rare two-sentence headline! The Washington Post has broken the ultimate scandal, perhaps eclipsing even its own now-legendary 1973 Watergate coverage. Channeling Watergate’s famous duo of Woodward and Bernstein, this new scandal was […]

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Roasting Marshmallows, Not Forests

October 13, 2017

If you have fond memories of roasting marshmallows around the campfire, and making s’mores with the kids, you may be surprised to learn that you’ve been doing it wrong all this time. Fortunately, the U.S. Forest Service has finally published guidelines on the correct method for roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. The government’s advice begins […]

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Those Pesky Farmers Again

October 2, 2017

The notorious legal case of California farmer John Duarte was finally settled last week. But the fact that it ever got to court should worry everyone who likes to eat. The case continued the decades-long devolution of a society that apparently places a fairly low priority on feeding itself. Wetlands are considered more important. The […]

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How Do You Get to Work?

September 29, 2017

Most Americans who commute to work every day drive their own cars, at their own expense. There are a few exceptions, companies that offer some employees the use of a company car as part of the benefit package, but those are usually the top managers. There is one other notable exception – the U.S. government. […]

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Guess Who Owns That

September 22, 2017

A Northern Virginia utility needed to cross a small parcel of private land near the Dulles Airport access road. Utilities contact property owners and negotiate such easements every day, but in this case county property records showed that the land was owned by the Federal Aviation Administration, which apparently owns the entire 28-mile length of […]

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My Decision May Change Your Life

September 15, 2017

A quick search on the Internet easily finds hundreds of famous quotes about how the everyday decisions we make can change our lives. Motivational speaker Anthony Robbins says, “Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent, and committed decision.” Seven-Habits author Steven Covey asserts, “I am not a product of my circumstances; I […]

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