In a few days, my mother celebrates her 95th birthday. She was born in the Midwest, went to a small Lutheran college near her parents’ farm, and began teaching in a Lutheran elementary school in 1934. She taught fourth grade for over 40 years before retiring to Holland, Michigan, where she still lives today. Throughout […]

The threat of global warming arises on three dimensions: ecological, political, and ideological. Physical changes to ecosystems have adverse impacts, while public policies dictated by politics rather than sound scientific and economic analysis have perverse and regressive consequences. The biggest threat of all, though, may come from ideological fundamentalists who constrain public discourse. We’ve seen […]

A Climate Change Caucus in the Montana legislature has been formed by Bozeman Representative Mike Phillips and his colleagues. One of their goals is to explore policy options to address global warming. The Caucus has consulted with local experts, including MSU’s Susan Capalbo, an economist who directs the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Project. This effort […]

Some of my friends and neighbors resent the prospect of living near the world’s most expensive spec house, a coming attraction in the Yellowstone Club. This is certainly not mere envy of the “haves” by the “have-nots,” for some friends are well-educated and well-off. Rather, they correctly anticipate the imposition of costs on innocent communities. […]