FREE has created a program for an ecumenical group of religious leaders. Most have advanced degrees and teach in seminaries or divinity schools. Some are in charge of publications; others involved with formulating and articulating their organization’s public policy positions. All are influential in the public environmental debate. These leaders all agree that environmental stewardship […]
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I’m convinced that I have discovered a new social law. It seems to have the validity of Newton’s Laws. Here it is: rising energy prices cause IQs and body temperatures to converge. Convergence is most rapid in the political arena, especially in a presidential election year. For thirty years our politicians have blathered on about […]
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I’ve just finished “Mountains Beyond Mountains” the selection for One Book-One Bozeman, a worthy effort to promote community and literacy through a common book reading. A schedule of events can be found on the web. The book tells the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard trained physician and anthropologist. Dr. Farmer’s calling is to […]
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In a previous column I asked, “What should we do about ecologically valuable areas that are also rich in energy resources? At current prices, these areas act like huge electromagnets, attracting evermore attention.” Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front for example, contains oil and gas deposits. It is also excellent grizzly habitat, a place where they can […]
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With the price of oil flirting around $150 a barrel, Americans’ views on energy and the environment are changing. Polling by the Pew Research Center indicates that people across party lines believe that expanding oil drilling and building new power plants should take priority over energy conservation. Have Americans abandoned support for environmental protection? The […]
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Governor Brian Schweitzer is a swashbuckling policy entrepreneur. He’s charmed the elite East Coast media with his Western swagger and tough talk about turning Montana’s abundant coal reserves into synthetic fuels: “Why wouldn’t we create an economic engine that will take us into the next century, and let those sheiks and dictators and rats and […]
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For over two decades FREE has sought to constructively work with responsible environmentalists, e.g., folks with Environmental Defense and the National Wildlife Federation. Our conference last week featured Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, authors of Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility. They joined us (and a dozen others), seeking […]
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The Bozeman Citizens Climate Protection Task Force was formed to help the city reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 15 percent below 2000 levels by 2020. It has proposed some dozen recommendations, ranging from adopting green building codes to buying energy from alternative sources. The task force believes many of their recommendations will be “cost neutral.” As a […]
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Record high energy prices and a recent trip to Europe prompt these thoughts on our energy future. The current energy situation, i.e., high prices, high demand, and tight supplies, is a glimpse of what life in a carbon constrained world looks like. We’re entering the early stages of a transition from fossil fuels that will […]
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It was a treat to see Jane Goodall during her recent visit to Bozeman. Dr. Goodall’s path-breaking research with chimpanzees was done on the Gombe Stream Reserve, now a small national park in western Tanzania. Dr. Goodall told her Bozeman audience that the park (and its chimpanzees) face serious threats as local residents clear the […]
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