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Lessons from the Old West: The 150th Anniversary of the Homestead Act

By P.J. Hill On May 20, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, an effort by the U.S. government to make 160 acres available to anyone who would move to unclaimed territory, build a cabin, farm the land, and live there for five years. Eventually 270 million acres were privatized by the process, ushering inContinue reading “Lessons from the Old West: The 150th Anniversary of the Homestead Act”

Unnatural forests are depleting water supplies

By Helen M. Poulos and James G. Workman Ronald Reagan once justified logging with “a tree is a tree; how many more do you need to look at?” Besides, he warned, “trees cause more pollution than automobiles.” We cringed at his biases. Yet due to forces none foresaw, Reagan’s gaffes may now ring true. Today,Continue reading “Unnatural forests are depleting water supplies”

At last, some bright spots in Indian country

By Terry L. Anderson When Supreme Court Justice John Marshall described the relationship between Indians and the federal government in 1831 as that of "a ward to his guardian," he sent Native Americans on a path of dependency and poverty. To this day, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is the trustee of Indian assets.Continue reading “At last, some bright spots in Indian country”

How Can Cities Reverse Urban Sprawl, Increase Transit Use, Reduce Emissions?

[Read the Abstract] San Jose, CA— The Mineta Transportation Institute (transweb.sjsu.edu) has published The Impact of Center City Economic and Cultural Vibrancy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation, a peer-reviewed research report. It documents that vibrant downtown areas are associated with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from driving, and with greater public transit use. InvestigatorsContinue reading “How Can Cities Reverse Urban Sprawl, Increase Transit Use, Reduce Emissions?”