The Hotel California for Wildlife

April 14, 2017

Sometimes in speeches, I have compared the endangered species list to the Hotel California, where “you can check out but you can never leave.” It is a short way of explaining the problem of a system that adds hundreds of species to the endangered list, but never takes any off. When it comes to recovering […]

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They’re Not Listening Still

April 7, 2017

An oft-quoted line in the Simon and Garfunkel classic “The Sound of Silence” laments “people hearing without listening.” The same idea concludes Don McLean’s classic tribute to Vincent Van Gough, with the line “They would not listen, they’re not listening still – perhaps they never will.” People not hearing, or not listening, is a frequent […]

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By Any Other Name

March 30, 2017

Are they lying, or just being economical with the truth? Did that fall off the back of a truck, or was it stolen? Does he need more time with the family, or was he fired? Was the animal put to sleep, or killed? We commonly use such euphemisms to make our point without being crass. […]

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Stop Me If You’ve Heard This

March 24, 2017

Here is a headline we could have written any time during the past twenty years, and probably any time in the next twenty: Washington Monument Closed Again. Closing the landmark to pressure Congress into giving the Park Service more money is so common that it has a name in the dictionary: The Washington Monument Syndrome. […]

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Of Billy Goats and Gruff Trolls

March 15, 2017

When I was little, our family had an old tattered copy of the children’s classic, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” It’s an old Norwegian folk tale about three goats trying to cross a bridge under which lived a hideous troll, who tried to eat them. As they crossed, though, starting with the smallest, they convinced […]

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A Promise Made is a Promise Kept

March 10, 2017

President Trump this week kept a campaign promise, one especially important to the West, ordering the EPA to withdraw its controversial “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) regulation. It is a welcome decision, though a great deal of work must be done now. That’s because Trump’s order temporarily reverts to the previous uncertainty, with constant […]

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We’ll Do Anything to Help – Except That

February 27, 2017

For years, politicians have waged war on coal, stifled oil and gas production, and advocated carbon taxes and other extreme measures to reduce carbon dioxide, while ignoring one of the most important things they could do to help. It reminds me of my own lifelong battle with weight and the associated health issues. I get […]

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I’m Not Doing This for You

February 22, 2017

It has been said that capitalism works for a very simple reason – people can be counted on to do what is in their own interest. That has been the basis of human interaction since the beginning of time. One villager would catch fish and sell them to others, which helped the fisherman succeed, but […]

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The Pursuit of Happiness – Mine, not Yours

February 17, 2017

A multi-millionaire named Roxanne Quimby spent years promoting a new national monument in Maine, which was finally established by President Obama over the objections of the State’s Governor and Senators. He also appointed Quimby to the National Park Foundation to honor her public-spirited donation of the land. She can certainly afford it, and I don’t […]

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If I Had a Billion Dollars

February 10, 2017

If you had $1.2 billion to spend, what would you do with it? Before you answer, there are some strings attached. First, you are required to invest in electric vehicle technology, electric vehicle infrastructure, or something that would result in “zero emissions” vehicles. Now what would you do with all that cash? Answer: whatever the […]

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