Early in my career I had the immense good fortune to work with Garrett Hardin, a distinguished ecologist. He was an extraordinarily fine and brave gentleman and scholar. Garrett was also sufficiently honest to admit his occasional errors and modify his analysis accordingly. Together, we produced a book that remained in print for nearly 20 […]
Read More
Professor William Cronon is a University of Wisconsin philosopher and historian who explores environmental history and the West. He is in Bozeman this week to deliver the annual Wallace Stegner Lecture, tomorrow night at 7:30 at the Museum of the Rockies. I recommend it. Cronon’s mere presence illustrates the evolution of the American West and […]
Read More
Thirty-plus years ago I chose Montana rather than accept offers elsewhere. My Ph.D. committee was appalled. They claimed I would disappear into an academic wilderness. I would forgo opportunities to work with prominent scholars; I couldn’t inform national decision makers and opinion leaders; I’d be stranded outside the national environmental policy debate. My professors didn’t […]
Read More
For over two centuries economists have agreed that free trade is mutually beneficial. They argue countries should specialize in what they do best — and buy the rest. They explain why the usual alternatives, protectionism and trade barriers, ultimately destroy wealth or frustrate its creation. Princeton economist Paul Krugman, a high priest of the anyone-but-Bush […]
Read More
“Unfortunately for everyone who cares about Yellowstone Park, [federal judge] Brimmer’s decision further entangles the park in a legal quagmire: The opponents of recreational snowmobiling sue. The government responds. The proponents of snowmobiling sue. The government responds. Then the cycle starts all over again. What will the rule be next winter? Where will this all […]
Read More
Ramona and I just returned from Moab, UT, the mountain bike capital of the West. I discovered that Moab is also the epicenter of 4×4 off-roading and the home of the annual “Easter Jeep Safari.” This event draws over 1,000 of these tricked-out toys and the behemoth trucks that bring them to Moab from all […]
Read More
In late 2002 Sierra Club Books published Downhill Slide: Why the Corporate Ski Industry Is Bad for Skiing, Ski Towns, and the Environment by ski journalist Hal Clifford. I just reread it after skiing our newest area, Moonlight Basin. Clifford gives an extremely harsh critique of the ski industry. He faults its cultural, economic, and […]
Read More
Ramona and I created Gallatin Writers more than a decade ago. Our goal was to foster sensitive but analytically sound analysis of problems and opportunities in our emerging West. With generous support from the Fanwood Foundation and in cooperation with Yellowstone Public Radio, Gallatin Writers and FREE are again sponsoring the Wallace Stegner Essay Contest […]
Read More
Here’s my proposed New Year’s resolution for well-fed Greens in wealthy countries: Quit starving or condemning people to malnutrition. Let me explain. I don’t fault those who choose to die for their religion…provided they harm no one else in the process. Thomas Moore, Joan of Arc, and others who preferred death to deviation from their […]
Read More
Sunday, NPR awakened me with this wonderful news: Saddam Captured While Hiding in Hole Near Hometown. And I immediately thought, another monster finally came down. Let’s be joyful and proud of America’s good work. On the Wall Street Journal’s web site Peggy Noonan wrote: “He can’t kill anybody now. He cannot gas women and children […]
Read More