NUMBY Californians

Here’s another reason why carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is not really such a good idea. The basic idea is that we will just capture all the CO2 produced by coal-fired power plants, pump it under high pressure across the country and shove it thousands of feet underground where it will stay for infinity and [...]

Coal ash conundrum

Last week, the Bugle published an article concerning a recent National Research Council study on the hidden health and environmental consequences of power production in the U.S. The study found that we pay, as a nation, about $120 billion per year, mostly in increased health problems and early deaths for our reliance on fossil fuels.
Along [...]

There ain’t no free lunch

It is imperative for the health of the planet that we move away from extractive, carbon-based energy and toward more environmentally friendly alternatives. However, an article in the New York Times this morning reminds us that there are always going to be consequences to the planet no matter how we get our electrical power. Two [...]

Drill baby drill

Don’t strain your neurons, but think way back to when the legislature was in session. A bill (SB437) to slightly restrict the use of exempt groundwater wells was introduced. Exempt wells (<35gpm) don’t have to go through the regular well permitting process. This was a good idea way back when small homeowners used the wells [...]

Warming western water woes

We live in Montana so that means that we love to fight over water. It’s a western tradition. Sadly, with the progression of climate change we will likely see more altercations.
We all know the story. You only have to look around to see the effects of climate change in Montana. Temperatures have increased from 1-2% [...]

Redegredation

You see, back in 2006 Montana had this good idea that you shouldn’t be allowed to screw up the water that flowed to your neighbor before he got his chance to use it. So, they wrote a simple rule; “For all state waters, existing and anticipated uses and the water quality necessary to protect those [...]

Clean Coal – Dirty Water

Tired of breathing all those toxic chemicals belching out of coal-fired power plants? Big Coal has an answer. Nearly 50 percent of the coal-fired power plants in the country have installed scrubbers to remove toxic chemicals from their emissions. Sound good? Well, maybe not. Emission scrubbers work by spraying water and chemicals into the plant’s [...]

River in doubt

Just in case you needed more reasons to believe that methane drilling in the headwaters of the Flathead River is not necessarily a good thing, the Bugle has collected a few recent articles on the horrors of CBM production.
If you live downstream on the Flathead, in Montana, you could wind up like Ned Prather of [...]

$3 Billion Hose Pipe

About a month ago, we talked about a fantastical idea by Colorado developer, Aaron Million, (apt name) to build a ten-foot diameter hose pipe to suck water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir and shoot it 600 miles down to Denver so the Rocky Mountain Front could continue to grow at current unsustainable rates.
Well, it seems that [...]

Now, that’s just rude

Last month the Bugle reported on a new study by the independent investigative journalism site ProPublica about an EPA investigation into the possibility of
chemicals from hydraulic fracturing, a process used in gas and oil well development, showing up in some domestic water wells in rural Wyoming. Pavillion, Wyoming is a hotbed of drilling for natural [...]