Standing on top of the Signal Peak coal mine tipple—the 10-story chute that loads coal into train cars—you could see almost the entire production area: the mouth of Montana’s only underground coal mine, acres of inventoried coal and the maze of conveyor belts that moves coal from place to place. It has a huge environmental

After I arrived in Augusta, MT, I received a text message from my brother who lives in Okayama, Japan. During this bike trip from Billings, MT to Glacier National Park, I didn’t have many chances to have cell service, so I couldn’t check the news of my country, Japan. My brother told me that Japan

Today we met with Lou Bruno an older man who lives in East Glacier who shared his story of becoming involved with different Montana organizations and making a change. Lou joked about how when he was a young adult he didn’t even really know what the difference between a Democrat and Republican meant. I really

Not In My Backyard, not through the oak trees and my childhood playground, not through my favorite fig tree that produces fruit in August, not through the grass that stains my jeans and welcomes my wild running feet, and not through my neighbor’s either. Nimbyism, Not In My Backyard; defined as a term for someone

After riding nearly 500 miles thus far on my touring bicycle from Billings to Dupuyer, Montana, I have seen countless ranches, sherbet sunsets, mountain ranges, and other features that make Montana the “last best place,” as many Montanans claim. However, one important piece of the Montana landscape is often overlooked. The transmission lines that connect

If we’re to take something away from our dominant fossil fuel-based energy system, it’s that too much of a good thing is a bad thing. With their subsidization, abundance, and high energy density, fossil fuels became an unprecedented way to relieve man and animal of work, so they became the energy source of ultimate convenience.

Hopping on a bike weighing 100 lbs, awaiting what would be a 700 mile trek across the Montana landscape with 13 other strangers is nothing short of an overwhelming experience. Coming from a background that stems heavily in the humanities and the social aspects of environmental studies and diving into a course that focuses mainly

Today marks our 100 mile mark on our 700 mile journey through Montana. After our 42 mile ride, we coasted down the Main Street hill into Roundup, passing by lines of cracked windshields and tall grasses growing through the pavement. So far, I have realized the importance of bringing together community members and making connections

After a thoroughly educational talk with Mike Scott, a farmer from Billings, about the effects of an oil spill on his land and the surrounding community, we went inside his relative’s house to watch a film.  On screen we’d see a younger version of Mike and his wife Alexis from seven years prior when they

While biking up the hill in Eastern Montana, I thought about my arrival to the United States three years ago. Now I am studying energy issues and climate change while I bike from Billings, MT to Glacier National Park with nine of my classmates. The Wild Rockies Field Institute offers a course called Cycle the