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Guest Commentary

by Tom von Alten

Larry Craig's opposition to the Wilderness bills from the other members of Idaho's Congressional delegation isn't a secret any more. The Idaho Statesman's editorial board revealed it on Dec. 1st, describing his "conditional" support: all the money promised in the bills has to be paid up front to satisfy our senior singing Senator. The board admits "a certain logic" to the requirement and it even sounds like a sensible test for any piece of legislation, until you consider how often it isn't done.

Former Governor Dirk Kempthorne's big highway maneuver using GARVEE bonds to put payment far into the future (and, as always, on the Fed's tax bill, to insulate us from immediate pain). The mmm, Iraq war. ("We have no idea what this is going to cost. Couldn't even make a guess.") The profound, structural, and far-reaching tax cuts that the Republicans used to bribe their way through the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections. And so on.

The board writes that Craig "doesn't want one group to get what it wants—new wilderness—while other parties wait for the check to come in the mail." Excepting of course that no law makes "new wilderness"; the law designates protection for what's already there. (The proposed laws do a lot more than that in their particulars, some of which provide for removing protection elsewhere, which would no doubt proceed without waiting for funding also.)

The biggest problem here is the timing. Craig, after 26 years in Congress, is keenly aware that timing is crucial in politics. Here, it almost appears that he waited until the worst possible moment to introduce a potential deal-breaker.

Almost?! [more]

Mitt Romney's presidential bid, Divine Strake, a possible Las Vegas earthquake, Senator Reid and the great pig, border disputes, M.A.D.D.

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Bye Bye, Big Sky

Airline rumors floating around the Flathead the last couple of days have proven to be true: as of August 5 Big Sky Airlines will discontinue its service to Kalispell, Great Falls and Spokane.

Currently Big Sky's route through Montana is as follows: Billings to Helena, Helena to Great Falls, Great Falls to Kalispell, Kalispell to Spokane. I spoke with Big Sky President Fred Deleeuw this morning, who confirmed that August 4 will be the last service day for that route.

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Putting a Dollar Amount on an Ecosystem

The war between development and environment tends be too simplistic and trite in the Flathead these days. That's why, just maybe, a report by a UM economist may add a more interesting facet to the debate.

On July 5 the Bigfork Eagle published a story highlighting the work of Jack Stanford, director of the University of Montana Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS). Stanford, who has done extensive work on the biology and ecosystem of the Crown of the Continent and its "Crown Jewel," Flathead Lake, said that a UM economist estimates Flathead Lake's economic worth between $6 and $10 million dollars.

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Curbing Our Oil Dependency, Looking at Global Warming

By Sean Stalpes

With a diminishing global oil supply coupled with the strenuous rises in oil prices, United States consumers are starting to notice some of the problems that are concurrent with our current energy agenda – and we should. The United States has roughly 5% of the world’s population, but we consume roughly 26% of the oil. Our lifestyles are based on an immediate access to cheap, dependable, and abundant energy sources. Sooner or later, though, the United States will be forced into a substantial increase in the use of renewable energy as either the amount of fossil fuel energy becomes too scarce or our environment can no longer withstand the effects of its combustion.

The good news is that the United States has a plethora of potential for renewable energy generation, from our vast areas of strong winds to the areas of bountiful and intense sunshine that wield tremendous capacities for solar energy. Therefore, it would definitely be in our economic interests to make the transition to a renewable energy economy as soon as possible.
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The Bacon Campaign

Montana Senator Conrad Burns announced yesterday that an appropriation of another $4 million would be added to Kalispell's US 93 bypass project, making the total appropriation $8.2 million. The bypass has been at the center of mega public debate in recent years as growth on 93's west side--along with drastic population increase in the Flathead Valley--has contributed to traffic and safety issues in and around Kalispell. The addition of new Kalispell high school Glacier High, located north of Kalispell, also became a motivating factor in the appropriations request, which was submitted by County Commissioner Gary Hall last fall and again early this year.

We shan't need be reminded that it's an election year in Montana. Burns and farmer Democrat Jon Tester are in the midst of one of the hottest US senate races around. Burns-- as we've been told again and again throughout the campaign-- is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee and has quite a history as a bacon-bringer for Montana.

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An Exercise in Local Awareness

What do we know about our homes? Not our houses, not our jobs, but about the environment around us, and about how our small space fits into the larger global matrix. On his blog, Help Wanted, Kevin Kelly asks a series of questions designed to test and challenge our awareness of space. If you score over 25, Kelly would like to hear from you. If, like me, you score in the single digits, perhaps it's time to think about turning off the television and getting out into the fresh air. [more]

Plane Talk

It was way too early in the day to be talking, but listening, especially in the close confines of the airport gate and jam-packed airplane, was unavoidable.

My 7:40 flight out of Glacier Park International Airport was sold out. The gate agent began offering the standard $400-flight, usable for up to one year, and by the time we were boarding, she'd upped the ante to "breakfast, lunch, dinner, and $400 flight to anywhere in the U.S....please?"

A woman standing at the gate with her two children announced over her shoulder to her travel friends, "they're paying for hotel too, so we're staying until tomorrow. I'm fine with it-- we get another day in Montana!"

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tiny car, big west

The Smart Car, a tiny little munchkin that's been cruising the streets of Europe since 1998, is coming to America. German-American carmaker DaimlerChrysler will introduce the Smart Car to the American market in 2008 in the hopes that soaring gas prices, waning interest in SUVs and concerns about global warming will jumpstart its popularity here.

The Smart Car is a bug-like two-seater that's only nine feet long from bumper to bumper. It's become trendy in big European cities for its ability to squeeze into parking spaces and navigate the narrow, winding streets. [more]

Blogvertorial

The Bitterroot Team aspires to build a family-friendly recreation venue that is accessible to and benefits all members of the Missoula and Bitterroot Valley communities. Bitterroot Resort is designed to be a year-round recreation destination with alpine, snowboard and cross-country ski venues, signature golf, fly-fishing, mountain biking, ice skating and other amenities existing alongside a four-season resort village and residential community.

Bitterroot Resort has recently submitted a special use permit application to the forest service requesting 1,680 acres of federal land, adjacent to the Maclay Ranch in the northern Bitterroot Valley, be designated as part of a destination ski resort. This proposal represents only a small portion of the envisioned 12,800 acres of potential skiable terrain on Lolo Peak and Carlton Ridge.

Show your support and sign the Bitterroot Petition online. [more]

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