By David Roberts on Apr 17, 2013 GRIST.ORG The notion of “externalities” has become familiar in environmental circles. It refers to costs imposed by businesses that are not paid for by those businesses. For instance, industrial processes can put pollutants in the air that increase public health costs, but the public, not the polluting businesses, picks up the tab. In this way, businesses privatize...

Leia Larsen, The Standard Examiner July is a big month for significant dates. But nestled between the nation’s Independence Day on July 4 and Utah’s Pioneer Day on July 24 came another milestone. On July 14, we reached our national Ecological Deficit Day. An ecological deficit means we’ve consumed more resources for the year than our land, waters and ecosystems can produce or absorb. As with overspending...

Dear GSLA Members & Friends, Our friends at Utah Native Plant Society have invited us to join them at their monthly chapter meeting for a presentation by one of our very own, Wayne Martinson. Topic: Envisioning a sustainable population living in harmony with Utah’s natural environment Presenter: Wayne Martinson, Board member & former Chair of Utah Population and Environment Council When:...

Utah lawmakers head into their final week of the legislative session trying to finalize a budget, as well as consider a major overhaul of liquor laws and a tax package that raises the sales tax on food but lowers the rate on all sales tax. The 45-day session wraps up Thursday. But until the clock strikes midnight that day, expect legislators to put in long hours and power through hundreds of bills....

Katie McKellar, Deseret News/KSL Contributing: Ryan Morgan Utah Legislature 2017 SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, updated lawmakers Thursday on her current priorities in Congress, including a bill she acknowledged has been “controversial.” As part of her efforts to contribute to the replacement of the Affordable Care Act, Love said she is pushing forward a bill that would allow...