North Carolina 12: Nature's toll road

I know just how tough it can be to make a decision affecting a local economy and communities' livelihoods. But if ever a road cried "close me down!" it would be North Carolina 12, the often weather-fractured asphalt ribbon that snakes down the Outer Banks. Yes, I live in Vermont, but in my many years of reserve duty at Langley Air Force Base, Hampton, Va., I traveled on NC 12 many a time. The latest media coverage includes this article.

Welcome to Oregon, land of the clearcut

That's the tag line on an advertisement conservationists had hoped to put on display at the Portland, Ore., airport, but which has been banned by the Portland Port Authority as somehow violating a policy prohibiting political ads. What a crock. This article describes what happened.

Bug attacks, kills snake in Arizona mountains

Read about this natural history observation right here. I remember the Rincn mountains from the two trips Monica and I made to Tucson earlier this decade.

Making it easier to pollute: Rev up the speed limit, to 80 mph

This is both a dangerous steering of Utah state law AND a way to make it easier for motor vehicle drivers in a car-centric society to pollute, as in carbon dioxide, crbonmonoxide, particulate, etc. etc. What a sham.

Mich. sues sprawl developer over alleged wetland destruction

The McMansion development in the Flint, Mich., area is called "Liberty Shore," according to this article about the pending lawsuit. The sprawl machine keeps on chewing up America's natural landscape, and this is just one result.

HOW DESPERATION, IPADS, AND REAL-TIME DATA REVIVED A FISHERY

The Nature Conservancy gets credit for a conservation win as described in this piece. But I remain shaken by the organization's kow-towing to big-money interests as of late.

Colorado’s flooding becomes a 1,000-year event as rescuers search for 500 missing people

Boulder County, Colorado is bracing for up to four more inches of rain Sunday afternoon, a forecast that Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says would magnify the problems rescuers are already facing in trying to reach stranded residents. Read about this extreme weather event that's got climate change-relation written all over it.