Planetsave

Oil and gas leases have been a hot topic for a long time, especially since the controversial disruption of a BLM land sale by student activist Tim DeChristopher in Salt Lake City this past December. The sale which, according to some, was a midnight move by the Bush administration found itself floundering when an unknown bidder (DeChristopher) won parcel after parcel of land. Since December the leased parcels have been pulled back and forth between the BLM and the Interior, between developers and nature-lovers.

This story goes back before DeChristopher, back before the rushed lease sale. Yet it shows that the tug-o-war has been going on for years; and it hasn’t stopped. When the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) recently told the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that it cannot move forward with 11 oil and gas leases without following federal cultural preservation law and consulting with concerned Native American tribes, a sigh was heard coming from Nine Mile Canyon in southern Utah.

Read the rest of this entry »

A publication from the Botanical Insitute of India reported that over 100 new plant species were discovered in India. One hundred and thirty seven are new to science, and 30 were discovered in India for the first time. “The Indian flora is mainly concentrated in three major centres of diversity namely Himalayas, the Western Ghats and Andaman and Nicobar islands. The discoveries reflect the potential of the country’s plant heritage which is yet to be explored,”  said BSI director M Sanjappa.

Read the rest of this entry »

University of Costa Rica scientists discovered a new species of frog in a mountainous region of their country. The frog is about 2 cm. in length and lives in the Altamira-Valle de Silencio area at an altitude of around 8,000 feet. The habitat there is rainforest with cool temperatures.

The frog was named Diasporus ventrimaculatus. Females are black and the males are orange, or grey. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Happy World Ocean Day!

This brief post is meant to arm you with the knowledge and know-how to take action to protect our oceans.

According to the WWF,

Over 80% of marine pollution comes from land-based activities
A staggering amount of waste, much of which has only existed for the past 50 years or so, enters the oceans each year.

From plastic bags to pesticides - most of the waste we produce on land eventually reaches the oceans, either through deliberate dumping or from run-off through drains and rivers. This includes:

• oil
• fertilizers
• solid garbage
• sewage
• toxic chemicals

From that bit of information we become quite aware that there are small changes we can make to help keep the oceans clean. However, to become part of a larger group of concerned citizens dedicated to the health of our oceans you may want to consider joining up with one of these five groups:

1. The Surfrider Foundation

OVERVIEW
The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.

Read the rest of this entry »

Desert spreads endlessly beyond the horizon, where crystalline azure meets rusted bronze. This is red rock country. Moab, Utah is known for its breathtaking scenery. Red rock arches, labyrinth-like canyons, the clever Colorado River. This paradise permeates the soul and the soil.  But something else sleeps in the soil: uranium tailings.

Uranium was discovered near Moab in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t significantly mined until 1952 when Charlie Steen, a geologist, discovered large quantities of uranium in Lisbon Valley, south east of Moab. Enough Uranium was mined that a sign in town declared that Moab was “The Uranium Capitol of the World!”

Read the rest of this entry »

In southeast Utah rests a peaceful town located on the banks of a peaceful river. Here the Green River flows between two canyons, Gray and Labyrinth, allowing for farming and ranching in an arid desert. Driving through Green River, Utah doesn’t take but a few moments, including a stop to purchase some mouth-watering melons, for which Green River is famous. But Green River now has a new claim to fame.

Transition Power Development LLC (TPD) has proposed construction of a 2 unit nuclear power plant known as the Blue Castle Project situated just outside of the peaceful town. In order to maintain the 2 unit nuclear power plant, massive amounts of water would be required. The Kane County Water Conservancy District (KCWCD) has filed a water-rights application in order to facilitate the project. The application requests 29,600 acre-feet of water, which would be diverted from the Green River, a part of the Colorado River drainage.

Read the rest of this entry »

Salt Lake City, UT - The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) announced that on May 28, 2009 an agreement was made with Equity Oil Company (”Equity”) concerning oil and gas leases on lands in Utah’s San Juan County.

The agreement “gives SUWA certainty that oil and gas development in an important part of the Hatch Point proposed wilderness area will be subject to the applicable Resource Management Plan and additional restrictions,” said Stephen Bloch, Conservation Director and Attorney for SUWA.

Read the rest of this entry »

Utah’s Book Cliffs exist as one of the largest expanses of land in the lower 48 states without a paved highway.  The BLM, however, is considering a project that would change that. Uintah County’s Seep Ridge Road Paving Project proposes paving over an existing road, which would allow greater recreational (and other, including hunting and oil and gas exploration) access.  The proposal states that:

“the road is currently composed of dirt or native material and several segments of the existing road do not meet current federal and state road design standards for public safety. All projections indicate a continued substantial increase in light and heavy vehicle traffic on the road, primarily associated with energy development in the Book Cliffs area.” (UT-080-08-0238 section 1.2)

Read the rest of this entry »

There are no security guards or high-tech alarm systems to protect this treasure. Instead, it is the rock climbers, hikers, campers and recreationists that are working overtime to protect this gem from being stolen. Rock Canyon in Provo, Utah has long been a haven of solitude for the humble seeker of peace and the nature lover alike; but recent disputations over land rights have formed darkening clouds on the horizon.

In the mid-1990s Richard Davis purchased nearly 80 acres of Rock Canyon along with a 1906 mining claim. Recently, Davis has sought to use his claim in order to mine quartz from the mountain; a prospect that has recreationists and naturalists up in arms.

Richard Davis, however, has legal rights to the land; and with consent from Provo city and the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, Davis has control of the reigns with how he will use his land. His plan: mine quartz, which is beneficial for the lucrative minerals with which it is layered. In order to obtain the quartz, rock would be cut away from the mountain, which one pro-canyon activist, Jim Knight, compared to cutting off the nose of the Mona Lisa.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Thai Navy arrested eight animal traffickers in possession of two tiger carcasses, both chopped in half, and 45 pangolins as they attempted to smuggle the animals across the Mekong River into Lao PDF. Read the rest of this entry »