NEWS ROUNDUP

China Becomes World's Biggest Carbon Dioxide Emitter China overtook the U.S. last year as the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas blamed for the bulk of global warming, a policy group that advises the Dutch government said. China produced 6,200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and producing cement last year, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency said in a statement posted yesterday on its Web site. That pushed it past the U.S., which produced 5,800 million tons of the gas, the agency said. ``Given the urgency of climate change, what China really needs to do is not to repeat the mistakes made by developed countries,'' said Ailun Yang, climate campaigner for Greenpeace China. ``It has to develop in a cleaner way.'' Greenhouse gases are blamed by the United Nations for causing the Earth to warm, increasing the risk of rising sea- levels, droughts and floods. At present, neither China nor the U.S. are subject to targets under the only international treaty requiring emissions cuts, the Kyoto Protocol, whose provisions expire in 2012. European leaders hope this year to kick-start negotiations for a successor agreement. China's rapid industrialization has meant it's long been predicted to overtake the U.S. as the world's biggest emitter....
Blue party, green plans for Dem convention Blue is the color of Democratic territory on the national map, but green will be the unofficial color of next summer's Democratic National Convention. Party officials are vowing to make the convention the most environmentally friendly gathering in memory. Thousands of delegates will be encouraged to ride bicycles between their hotels and the Pepsi Center, to recycle everything from confetti to coffee cups and to buy "carbon offsets" to repair the damage done from travelers flying to Denver from around the world. "It will be the greenest convention we've ever had," said Leah Daughtry, CEO of the convention. "We want to incorporate green principles into everything we do." The Democrats are hoping their efforts to give the convention a green tint will boost their fortunes in the crucial western states, where the environment is a big issue....
Big tax on big oil advances in Senate A proposal to hit oil companies with $29 billion in new taxes advanced in the Senate on Tuesday, targeting the money to energy conservation, wind turbines, electric hybrid cars and clean coal technology. The massive tax package, double what Democrats had discussed as recently as last week, is "designed to promote clean and sustainable energy," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee that approved the measure by a 15-5 vote. It is expected later this week to be added to energy legislation being considered by the full Senate. Senators acknowledged that oil companies would howl over the new taxes. But Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the Finance Committee's top Republican, said, "We have entered a new era in energy markets ... (that) requires a dramatic shift away from tax incentives for oil and gas production" and toward support for other energy sources and efficiency....
Property owner fights for a fair deal Nancy Esposito has never been shy with her criticisms of Stanley Seligson's plan to redevelop her neighborhood. Last week, her voice got louder - and her opposition to eminent domain sharper. "Hell No, We Won't Go!" reads a banner slung from the side of her business at West Avenue and Merwin Street. That shop, Casey's Sheet Metal, sits in the path of Seligson's redevelopment plan. Esposito is worried that talks with Seligson - who has purchased much of the property in his plan but still has several deals to make - will fail, and the city will pursue eminent domain to seize remaining land. Eminent domain allows governments to appropriate private property for public use. Ideally, Esposito said, Seligson would integrate her business into the redevelopment plan, or find her a new property in the neighborhood. City officials have pledged to use eminent domain as a last resort, as Mayor Richard Moccia did earlier this year when he and Seligson unveiled the West Avenue master plan at City Hall....
Army wants more elbow room The Army, needing more room for combat practice with advanced battlefield technology, wants to expand its training areas by up to 70% in the next four years, says a Pentagon official who oversees training. The Army now uses about 7 million acres on 102 training sites and ranges across the USA. Its wish list for land acquisition by 2011 totals another 4.9 million acres, says James Gunlicks, Army deputy director for training. That's about the size of Connecticut, Delaware and the District of Columbia combined. Proposals already underway in California, Colorado and Hawaii would add 540,000 acres. Those include a 120,000-acre addition to the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin in California and a controversial proposal to almost triple the size of Colorado's 235,900-acre Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site. Gunlicks says the need for 4.9 million acres "does not necessarily mean the Army will be able to purchase that much. But we would like to have that additional (land)." He says that most training sites aren't big enough to accommodate realistic maneuvers using modern combat tools: faster fighting vehicles, advanced weapons and more sophisticated command and communications gear....
Salazar gives Army 30-day ultimatum on Pinon Canyon Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., gave the Army an ultimatum Wednesday to quickly explain how it intends to provide economic benefits to Southern Colorado with the expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site - or Salazar will vote against the expansion in the upcoming 2008 Defense military construction appropriations bill. Both Salazar and Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., are feeling pressure over Pinon Canyon, now that the House overwhelmingly passed legislation last Friday that would block the Army from spending any money next year on the planned 414,000-acre expansion. Talking to reporters, Salazar said that if he doesn't get detailed answers on economic assistance from the Army, he would "look at the appropriate legislative vehicles to stop the Army from moving forward" until he does. Lon Robertson, president of the Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, said his members are baffled by Salazar's willingness to offer the Army a chance to make doubtful economic promises to the community. The coalition, which has about 1,000 members, including ranchers, rural business people and like-minded groups, is opposed to any expansion. "Given the strong vote we had in the House, it makes us wonder who Sen. Salazar is listening to," Robertson said....
Forest Service considers limiting target practice The U.S. Forest Service said Wednesday it may have to limit target practice along the Front Range because of a growing problem trying to balance the rights of shooters with hikers, bikers and others who want to use national forests. Regional Forester Rick Cables told state lawmakers his agency is conducting a multiple-forest survey called the Urban Front Country Initiative in an effort to determine whether some areas along the Front Range need to be closed to shooters because of the danger to others. "We're not trying to single out shooters. We're trying to manage the whole spectrum of recreational use," Cables told lawmakers who requested the meeting. Legislators expressed concern after the Boulder Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest began researching the effect of dispersed camping, the use of campfires and shooting. District foresters indicated there is a possibility shooting could be prohibited in the forest....
Judges deny groups' request to halt Montana logging project An appeals court panel has denied a request from environmental groups to stop the logging of beetle-killed trees on 2,600 acres in and around the Basin Creek watershed south of here. The groups asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year to halt the project pending their appeal. The request was denied Tuesday in an order filed by judges Edward Leavy, Pamela Ann Rymer and Thomas G. Nelson, all Republican appointees to the appeals court. "Obviously, we are disappointed," said Tom Woodbury, a Missoula lawyer representing the environmental groups. Butte officials lauded the decision as a chance to salvage rotting, beetle-killed timber while reducing the potential for a major wildfire in the Basin Creek reservoir, which is the source of roughly 40 percent of Butte's municipal water....
EPA frowns on Yellowstone snowmobile proposal A new proposal for snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park doesn't go far enough in ensuring the protection of air quality, human health, wildlife and quiet spaces, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA says the National Park Service should either change its current "preferred alternative" or choose a different option. Earlier this year, the Park Service released a draft plan that would allow 720 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches per day into Yellowstone. The machines would have to meet noise and pollution standards and snowmobilers would have to be with a commercial guide. The proposal, expected to be finalized last year, is the latest attempt to resolve the long-running controversy over snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks....
Park mauling makes Lander man a minor celebrity Dennis VanDenbos, mauled by a grizzly bear, is home now, and grateful his wounds aren't worse. Meanwhile, the Park Service has taken some heat for leaving a carcass out in the open near people, in an area just yards away from cabins at Jackson Lake Lodge. VanDenbos, a 54-year-old Lander resident was walking near the Jackson Lake Lodge July 13 when he surprised a mother grizzly and three cubs feeding on a freshly killed elk calf. The mother charged him, biting him and tearing flesh in the back and buttocks....
Heartbreak on Sam's Knob? Sam's Knob has become more like Heartbreak Hill for the Aspen Skiing Co. The Skico's quest to rebuild a restaurant at the Sam's Knob section of Snowmass Ski Area has turned into a one-year nightmare. The U.S. Forest Service first rejected the project for not blending in well enough with the forest environment. Now, the redesign, soaring construction costs and the Skico's desire to meet a national standard for environmental design have forced the company to delay the project. The company wants to construct the restaurant next summer and open it for the 2008-09 ski season. There's just one problem with that plan: It promised the town of Snowmass Village in writing to have a new restaurant open for the 2007-08 ski season. If not, the Skico faces a fine of $1,000 per day....
Huntsman, DWR look at updating bear policy As this summer's unusually high number of bear encounters continues to grow, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Wednesday he's taking another look at how the public can be informed about threatening animals. U.S. Forest Service and Division of Wildlife Resources officials have closed two campgrounds in Utah and set traps for foraging bears — just days after Utah's first recorded fatal black bear attack. Samuel Evan Ives, 11, was killed in American Fork Canyon. The Ledgefork campground above the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir in the eastern Uinta Mountains has been closed for three days as DWR officials have tried to catch an aggressive bear that has visited the site regularly over the past two weeks. In the Spanish Fork ranger district Tuesday, DWR employees set a trap for a bear that has rummaged in a Dumpster. According to Uinta National Forest spokeswoman Loyal Clark, the Blackhawk campground on the Mount Nebo loop will remain closed — with barricades — until the foraging bear is caught and relocated to another area. Closing a campground with a live bear trap is standard practice, Clark said....
Forest Service seeks closure of worn-out roads By the Forest Service's count, there are nearly 25,000 miles of low standard or unauthorized roads on the 13 national forests that span the agency's Northern Region. The Wilderness Society's Joe Kerkvliet calls them “ticking time bombs.” Without proper maintenance, forest roads can spew sediment that harms fish habitat and water quality. “When a road starts falling apart, it begins to deliver tons of sediment into nearby streams,” Kerkvliet said. “Heavy rains or rain on snow can cause massive failures or landslides. These roads have the potential to create serious environmental damage.” Congress is considering a new $65 million program to decommission roads the Forest Service either doesn't want or didn't authorized. The “Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative” under consideration by the House would set aside funding for road decommissioning, road and trail repair and maintenance, and the removal of fish barriers. The program is part of a bill that funds the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service. It successfully passed the full House Appropriations Committee the first week of June and could be considered by the full House as early as next week....
Senate Finance Committee OKs new safety net legislation A push to extend the timber safety net another four years received a boost Tuesday from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. The committee, by a 15-5 vote, approved an energy tax bill. The safety net provision was added as an amendment to the legislation. The plan mirrors one passed by the Senate last month and included in the emergency supplemental funding bill. The House would not agree to the multiyear extension at that time, however. The final bill signed by President George W. Bush included a one-year emergency extension of the safety net. Oregon timber counties received $280 million in safety net payments in the current fiscal year. Overall, $2.9 billion was provided to 700 counties in 39 states over the past six years. Under the proposed Senate extension, future payments to Oregon, Washington and California counties — the major safety net recipients — would decrease by 10 percent per year. Bingaman and some other powerful senators had been lukewarm about the safety net extension until that provision was added to the Senate version of the spending bill that had been part of the emergency supplemental budget fight....
Funds to hire 3,000 more park rangers included in Senate bill A Senate Appropriations subcommittee today approved increased funding for Forest Service firefighter preparedness and 3,000 more National Park Service rangers as part of a $27.2 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and related agencies. Among the highlights of the bill, approved by the subcommittee on Interior, environment and related agencies and headed to full committee Thursday: • $7.8 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, including $2.8 billion for pollution reduction and $773 million for science and technology research programs. • $2.5 billion for the National Park Service, including $2.0 billion for operations and hiring new park rangers. • $4.6 billion for the Forest Service, including $676 million for firefighter preparedness, $108 million more than the president’s request....Sources say this appropriations bill is headed for a veto.
U.S. Cattlemen's Association Opposes Plan to Regionalize Beef Trade With Argentina In a letter sent June 19, 2007 to the Senate Finance Committee, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) made it clear that opposing regionalization of Argentina, related to animal health disease issues for import purposes, is one of the organization’s "top member-driven policy issues." USCA urged Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to "strongly oppose any attempt to weaken oversight or regulation of trade with Argentina." Despite widespread problems with foot and mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious infection that can destroy entire cattle herds, Argentina has proposed a plan to export beef to the United States from certain regions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently considering adoption of the proposal to relax restrictions on Argentine beef from some areas by regionalizing trade areas. USCA is deeply concerned that proper enforcement of regionalized trade would be impossible and that these regions would become gateways for beef from non-approved areas of Argentina and Brazil. Brazil also has FMD issues....
Fire Kills 24 Horses in Kentucky Barn A barn fire at an award-winning American Saddlebred farm in south-central Kentucky killed 24 horses, the owner said Wednesday. Seven colts and 17 mares were in the barn at 3-T Farm in Allen County when the fire broke out Tuesday morning, said Paige Tabor, one of the owners. All but one of the horses were American Saddlebreds, she said. "When you lose a barn full, it's overwhelming, but you just pick yourself up and find a way to go on," Tabor said. The farm has about 300 horses, she said. A farm worker reported the fire, Tabor said. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blaze, Halifax Fire Chief Tim Shockley said....
Idaho Basque community celebrates center The descendants of Basque sheepherders who helped settle southwestern Idaho early last century opened a 7,600-square foot center dedicated to promoting their culture. The 300-member Basque club Txoco Ona -- pronounced Cho-ko On-uh -- played host to a packed house Sunday at the new building, with traditional Basque card games, music, dancing and members showing off feats of athletic prowess, such as hefting 250-pound concrete blocks. The group raised $450,000 for the building. John Vergara, a proponent of the Basque community, said the weightlifting games all have roots in everyday tasks performed by his ancestors in their homeland on the French-Spanish border and when they arrived in the United States with little more than their muscle power. "These guys used to have to work like this," he said. Some 15,000 Basques live in southwestern Idaho and make up the third-largest Basque population in the world, after an enclave in Argentina and in Spain and France....
And They're Off At The Cowboy Races Working on the wild, open range might as well be the battle of Troy for most folks. It’s something that happened long ago, in some other, distant place. But not for everyone. This weekend organizer Craig Cameron will bring his touring Extreme Cowboy Race to the king of cowtowns to show city-folk and ranching aficionados alike some of the best on-the-range skill sets rural America has to offer. After a life involved with horses and their riders, Cameron looked around the competitive cowboy world four years ago and said to himself: Wait a minute. Why in the world aren’t these things held, you know, outdoors? “I realized every event is in an arena,” Cameron says. “It’s not natural. It’s not the riders’ natural environment.” The weekend-long event at the Saddle and Sirloin Club will feature real cowboys showing off the horsemanship skills they use everyday....
200 miles of training in cowboy On a sunny near-summer afternoon, three teens on horseback, with three pack horses trailing, made an unorthodox caravan as they reached the Pozo Saloon. Clad in jeans, chaps, Western-style shirts and cowboy hats, the 17-yearolds were on the next to last leg of a 200-mile trip that took them from Ojai to Santa Margarita, concluding Tuesday evening at the Santa Margarita Ranch after 12 days on the trail. The group, which included William Hockey of Templeton, was on its way home for the summer from Thacher School, a private boarding high school in Ventura County. They took the trip — which they had wanted to do since freshman year — to connect with the school’s early history. Their school prepared them well. Instruction and practice of Western horsemanship is an extracurricular class at Thacher, and students take regular extended camping trips on horseback into the wilderness. The trip hearkens back to the school’s early days when it was founded just for boys in 1889. Then students came from across the state, mostly on horseback....