Gore Urges Bold Moves in Nobel Speech He has said it over and over again, in increasingly somber and urgent terms, to anyone who would listen. But former Vice President Al Gore used the occasion of his Nobel Peace Prize lecture here today to proclaim it to the world: climate change is a “planetary emergency,” he said — a “real, rising, imminent and universal” threat to Earth’s very survival. “We still have the power to choose our fate, and the remaining question is only this,” Mr. Gore said: “Have we the will to act vigorously and in time, or will we remain imprisoned by a dangerous illusion?” The ceremony marking the prize, which Mr. Gore shares with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations panel of scientists, comes even as representatives of the world’s governments are meeting in Bali to negotiate a new international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new treaty would replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012. Mr. Gore called on the negotiators to establish a universal global cap on emissions and to ratify and enact a new treaty by the beginning of 2010, two years early. And he singled out the United States and China — the world’s largest emitters of carbon dioxide — for failing to meet their obligations in acting to mitigate climate change. “They will need to make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act,” he said....
U.N. climate summit enters final week The United States insisted Monday a "roadmap" for future global warming talks should not suggest potential targets for emissions cuts by rich nations, as a pivotal climate summit entered its final week. However, the U.N climate chief, Yvo de Boer, said cutting emissions by up to 40% was crucial for reining-in rising temperatures and winning over investors who could provide many of the high-tech solutions needed to ward off catastrophe. Prominent figures such as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore are to arrive in Bali in the coming days to provide momentum toward finalizing the "roadmap" that will eventually lead to a successor accord for the Kyoto Protocol. A draft document mentions targets for reducing the amount of pollutants pumped into the atmosphere, but in a non-binding way. Its preamble notes the widely accepted view that industrial nations' emissions should be cut by 25% to 40% below 1990 levels by 2020, and that global emissions need to peak in the next 10 to 15 years and then be dramatically slashed to half of 2000 levels by mid-century....
Budget battle may block Pinon Canyon spending President Bush's veto of every 2008 spending bill approved thus far by the Democratic majority in Congress is threatening to drag the dispute over the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site into the budget deadlock as well. Ranchers opposed to the Army's plan to acquire another 414,000 acres for the training area won a major victory this summer when the House and Senate approved an amendment to the 2008 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Act that would block the Army from spending any money on planning the expansion next year. That victory could be short-lived, however, as the construction bill is still waiting for final House and Senate approval and could end up being lumped into a massive "omnibus" 2008 budget bill to keep the government running - but the White House has threatened to veto an omnibus bill as well, claiming it would contain too much special-interest spending....
Army tests in Utah's western desert are surprise to ranchers Ranchers in Utah's western desert are worried about danger that may be posed by drone aircraft the Army intends to fly in the region starting in 2010. And they're upset that until recently, military officers made no attempt to contact them directly concerning the project, said Cecil Garland, a resident of Callao, Juab County. Citing his experience in Word War II, he said anything guided by electronics "can fall anywhere." Snake Valley was chosen for flights because it's sparsely populated, he believes. The tests would not happen in a more densely peopled place, according to him. The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, nicknamed JLENS, is an Army project that would use the Utah Test and Training Center, an Air Force facility within Dugway Proving Ground. Drone aircraft would be launched from Utah state school land east of Baker, Nev., said Steve Erickson, an activist with Citizens Education Project, Salt Lake City. Garland, a rancher, said he and his neighbors only recently learned of JLENS....
Ranchers take land plan to Capitol Hill A group of ranchers opposed to federally designated wilderness in Doña Ana County has submitted a plan for preserving open space to New Mexico's congressional delegation. People for Preserving Our Western Heritage said Friday it sent its proposal to congressmen. The proposed plan would prevent mining, oil prospecting and housing development on 302,000 acres in the county. Ranchers, who announced the plan in October, say it will accomplish the goal of retaining open space, while leaving their livelihoods intact. "What we have put together provides a balanced approach to preservation and protection of our federal land, natural resources and open space without sacrificing access or beneficial use of the land," said Tom Mobley, a Doña Ana County rancher and a co-chairman of People for Preserving Our Western Heritage, in a news release. The group of ranchers also said it has gathered support for its proposal from 525 "local and regional" businesses....
State disputes $15 million of tax credits Colorado is seeking repayment of $15 million of tax credits granted as part of an innovative incentive program to save endangered lands. And that amount is likely to grow as part of a massive audit the Colorado Department of Revenue has undertaken to determine whether the tax credits were overvalued or were claimed on lands that weren't endangered. The Revenue Department's investigation, one of the largest it has ever undertaken, is looking at more than 10,000 tax returns claiming the credits since 2001. During that time, more than $274 million of conservation credits were claimed from Colorado's treasury alone. The Internal Revenue Service and the state's divisions of real estate and security also are investigating the credits, the people who received them and the appraisers who valued the land. The investigations threaten to put the brakes on Colorado's nationally recognized efforts to protect its crown jewel landscapes. Colorado ranks No. 2 in the nation in its use of conservation easements, protecting more than 1.2 million acres....
Wild cat captured at Billings airport A young bobcat probably hunting for rabbits got snared at the Billings Logan International Airport on Friday. By late afternoon, the bobcat was on its way to ranchland east of Shepherd. Kevin Holland, a warden for the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said bobcats are in the area, but he hadn't seen one so close to town before. An airport staffer caught the bobcat in a snare on Friday. The animal was uninjured. On its way back to the wild, the bobcat crouched at the back of its cage in Holland's pickup truck, its big green eyes staring warily at faces of people trying to get a look and snap a photo. The cat snarled and growled. Contrary to the small label on the cage, this was no house cat....
Report outlines Arizona's sustainability needs With Arizona’s population reaching 6 million people, and the world’s population now exceeding 6.5 billion, sustainability is a frequent topic of conversation. But the concept means many things to many people. The new Arizona Policy Choices report, titled “Sustainability for Arizona: The Issue of Our Age,” defines the concept and reveals how it relates to Arizona’s past, present and future. The report is a joint project of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS). “Sustainability is about more than just being ‘green,’ ” says Rob Melnick, director of the Morrison Institute. “It’s about making policy choices that take the economy, society and the environment into account.” The report, the first of its kind, is a primer on the subject – and a targeted analysis for Arizona. In addition to thoughtful examinations of the state’s history, economy, environment and society, “Sustainability for Arizona” presents the views of leading policy thinkers in Arizona and across the country, including:....Go here to view the report.
BLM Planning to Thin Nevada Wild Horse Herds The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced plans to gather and remove nearly 1,000 wild horses from public land in northeastern Nevada, citing insufficient forage caused by drought conditions. Plans call for the removal of about 400 wild horses from the Antelope Valley Herd Management Area and about 550 of the animals from the Antelope area. John Ruhs, the BLM's Ely field manager, said the appropriate management levels are 23 to 38 horses for Antelope Valley and 194 to 324 horses for Antelope. "We're gathering these horses now while they're healthy," Ruhs said. "In 60-90 days, that is not going to be the case. These are planned gathers that we've moved up because there just isn't enough forage to support this many animals. The BLM and ranchers also are reducing livestock use in the areas, BLM officials said, and the intent of the gathers is to maintain "a thriving natural ecological balance" between wild horses, wildlife, livestock, and vegetation....
Gathering 'round the grouse It's difficult to know exactly how energy development, recreation and agriculture across the West might be forced to change if the greater sage grouse is given protection under the Endangered Species Act. But some argue at least some of the effects are already appearing, as stakeholders are crossing institutional and jurisdictional boundaries in an attempt to prevent such listing. "It's no longer the regulator and the regulated. It's about cooperated efforts, and it's really the only way to move forward," said Kevin McAleese of the Sand County Foundation in Colorado. The mere threat of listing two years ago has spawned numerous working groups, initiatives and partnerships spanning all levels of industry and government. The prospect of sage grouse listing was revived last week by U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill in Idaho. He ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to start another 12-month review of whether the grouse deserves federal protection, after finding that a 2005 decision against listing was inappropriately influenced by politics and not based on science....
Stakes high as billions head Colorado's way Rolling west along Interstate 70 out of Glenwood Springs, down valley to Rifle and on to Parachute, the gas drilling rigs illuminate the night sky like exotic carnival rides — here, there and way up there in the distance, two ridges over. The brilliantly lighted exploration towers are symbols of Colorado's roaring natural gas boom — 33,600 wells now pumping and tens of thousands more on the drawing board. Forecasts show the boom extending 20, even 30 years into the future. While most of the state's 3.8 million Front Range residents go about their daily business with little or no awareness of the boom, it is an economic and environmental phenomenon with huge implications for the future of the state. It very well could influence how our children are educated, the kinds of jobs the state can attract and other major aspects of what Colorado will be like in the decades to come. Already, the oil and gas industry dwarfs most others — even tourism....
All’s not well as drilling takes over bigger chunks of Weld County land Mark Nygren steers his tractor down rows of green, leafy sugar beets on his Weld County farm. The blades of his harvester turn over the brown earth to reveal the white roots, healthy and huge this year. More than a mile under the soil, locked in stone, is one of the nation’s oldest and most productive oil and gas fields. Known as the Denver-Julesburg Basin, it stretches from just north of Denver all the way to Nebraska and Wyoming. Although the Nygren family owns their land, they don’t own the rights to most of what’s below the surface. As a consequence, about a dozen oil and gas wells dot their fields, and the companies that own the mineral rights are planning to dig 14 more wells this year. “This land is our nest egg,” said Mark’s wife, Julie, who is worried that their future may be threatened. The storage tanks, access roads, supply lines and pads for more than two dozen wells will take up such a large chunk of their 460-acre homestead — not to mention create a mountain of bureaucracy — that it could discourage developers who’ve shown interest in their property. That’s already happened to a neighbor....
State ag director will defend premises ID number mandate at Hancock County meeting The Hancock County Farm Bureau will sponsor an informational meeting Monday night on the controversial new requirement requiring registration for a premise identification number before any livestock can be exhibited at any state, county, 4-H and FFA fair in 2008. The meeting, with Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke as a featured speaker, takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hancock County Extension Center, located three-quarters of a mile north of the four-way stop on Ill. 94 in Carthage. "Our goal is to encourage the Illinois Department of Agriculture to eliminate the mandatory premise identification program for all 4-H, FFA, county and state fairs," Hancock County Farm Bureau Manager Carla Mudd said. "We hope other counties will join us in this fight to get this mandate overturned." The mandate, announced Oct. 31, generated controversy in Hancock and other counties. Mudd said the meeting gives Hartke a chance to hear from producers about the problems associated with the program....
Days Past: The remarkable story of Solon Borglum It's July 3, 1907. A parade with cavalry, a marching band, a troop of Rough Rider veterans, Civil War veterans, troops from Fort Whipple, the territorial governor, various prominent citizens and military officers, and the fire departments of Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott proceed to the courthouse plaza in Prescott. Seven thousand people witness the unveiling of the statue of Prescott's own Buckey O'Neill. The monument is standing there today but technically it's not a statue of Buckey O'Neill. The statue is a tribute to the Rough Riders. You may ask, what is the connection? Was Buckey a Rough Rider? And who were the Rough Riders? Very briefly, O'Neill was a remarkable citizen of Prescott. O'Neill arrived in Prescott in 1882 and became a journalist, then a law clerk, then a lawman and finally the mayor of Prescott. He was mayor when the Spanish American War of 1898 broke out. Theodore Roosevelt became famous for leading the Rough Riders to the war where these soldiers from Arizona and New Mexico became heroes, as did Roosevelt. It was O'Neill who organized the local call for volunteers. The First Volunteer U.S. Cavalry became known as the Rough Riders. Teddy Roosevelt became famous and Buckey O'Neill died in battle at San Juan Hill. The statue has been called the finest equestrian statue ever made. Certainly, Solon Borglum to the end of his days considered it his best work. So, who was Solon Berglum and how did he come to create this statue?....