January 2012

Thumbnail image for Road Rage: Why?

Road Rage: Why?

by The Sage Grouse February 26, 2010

Road Rage: Why?
What is the function of a horn on an automobile?  (The audible horn, not the Texas longhorns on the hood.)
In China, where many intersections are unmarred by stop …

Thumbnail image for Sage-grouse 1.5 – How Much Space Does A Sage-grouse Need?

Sage-grouse 1.5 – How Much Space Does A Sage-grouse Need?

by The Sage Grouse February 25, 2010

Sage-grouse 1.5 – How Much Space Does A Sage-grouse Need?
“The Sage Grouse” as a commentator has been granted a certain license to offer independent analyses which might irritate enviros, industry, …

Thumbnail image for Guns:  Lots of Heat, Not Much Light

Guns: Lots of Heat, Not Much Light

by The Sage Grouse February 24, 2010

Guns:  Lots of Heat, Not Much Light
(I want to remind readers that I own guns and hunt bighorn sheep, elk, pheasants and huns.)
During the current legislative debate on letting any …

Wild Horses

by The Sage Grouse February 23, 2010

Wild horse lovers, let’s do a poll:
Do you love horses?
Do you think it’s a really bad thing if a horse suffers pain, stress, anxiety or a frustrated love affair?
Do you …

Thumbnail image for Gun Madness, Part Two

Gun Madness, Part Two

by The Sage Grouse February 19, 2010

Gun Madness, Part Two
After I wrote my first piece on legislation  wiping out the requirements to get a permit before carrying a concealed weapon, my editor called me up and …

Thumbnail image for Weird Anti-Obama Fallout: Guns

Weird Anti-Obama Fallout: Guns

by The Sage Grouse February 18, 2010

Weird Anti-Obama Fallout: Guns
What a time to be an arms dealer: people are hoarding ammo and guns like crazy in an irrational fear that President Obama, being liberal and black …

Thumbnail image for More on Wind Turbines and Other Difficult Energy Choices

More on Wind Turbines and Other Difficult Energy Choices

by The Sage Grouse February 17, 2010

More on Wind Turbines and Other Difficult Energy Choices
The Wildlife Society, an organization of professional biologists, published a paper on wind turbines.  I read through that understated and scholarly TWS …

Thumbnail image for Green Fees: Cheyenne Lawyer’s Crusade on US Legal Payments

Green Fees: Cheyenne Lawyer’s Crusade on US Legal Payments

by Philip White February 16, 2010

Cheyenne attorney Karen Budd-Falen has raised a furor among ranching communities in Wyoming and elsewhere in the West by claiming that environmental groups are abusing federal statutes and collecting billions …

Thumbnail image for Wind power and birds

Wind power and birds

by The Sage Grouse February 16, 2010

Wind power and birds
I decided to educate myself about wind turbines and birds.  Here is a start.
Wind turbines are designed to achieve a Tip Speed Ratio which maximizes capture of …

Thumbnail image for Texting While Operating 4,000 Pound Lethal Weapons?

Texting While Operating 4,000 Pound Lethal Weapons?

by The Sage Grouse February 12, 2010

Texting While Operating 4,000 Pound Lethal Weapons?
I was driving home from work the other day, listening to Wyoming Public Radio air a story about a bill to ban texting while …

Thumbnail image for Blogging Cheyenne: Blogs on the Legislative Budget Session

Blogging Cheyenne: Blogs on the Legislative Budget Session

by WyoFile February 12, 2010

…a number of journalists, state politicians, policy wonks, environmental activists and political party henchmen are blogging the 2010 Budget Session of the Wyoming Legislature now in full swing in Cheyenne.

Thumbnail image for I-80 tolls: A Stupid Idea

I-80 tolls: A Stupid Idea

by The Sage Grouse February 11, 2010

I-80 tolls: A Stupid Idea
In my former life I was an attorney for the Wyoming Dept. of Revenue, which operated the ports of entry at places, inter alia, Evanston, Cheyenne …

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Protect Wyoming Reserve Funds

by The Sage Grouse February 10, 2010

Protect Wyoming Reserve Funds
Gov. Dave Freudenthal,
Dear Dave,  Hold the line on the public fund reserves; Wyoming cities and counties crave money like junkies crave heroin.  Everyone trashes Congress for spending …

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Greater Sage-Grouse One

by The Sage Grouse February 9, 2010

Greater Sage-Grouse One
The name for this column is a fun double or triple pun:  the author is supposedly sage but inclined to eschew political correctness.  Nonetheless, the Greater Sage-grouse, Centrocercus …

Thumbnail image for Big Piney CO2 Storage Pilot Nears OK

Big Piney CO2 Storage Pilot Nears OK

by Environment & Energy Daily February 7, 2010

Federal regulators are nearing approval of a natural gas development project in southwest Wyoming that would serve as a testing ground for new mineral extraction technology while becoming one of …

Thumbnail image for WyoFile’s Wyoming: An Insider’s Guide – The Vore Buffalo Jump

WyoFile’s Wyoming: An Insider’s Guide – The Vore Buffalo Jump

by WyoFile February 2, 2010

The Vore Buffalo Jump near here is primal, rough and endowed with all the ambiance of open pit iron mine. On a November day at the site there is no …

Thumbnail image for Taxing The Wind – Governor Pushes First Statewide Production Levy

Taxing The Wind – Governor Pushes First Statewide Production Levy

by Environment & Energy Daily February 1, 2010

Reprinted from ClimateWire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net. 202/628-6500
By Debra Kahn, ClimateWire
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) is determined to levy a production tax on wind power …