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    • Week 01: Test
    • Week 02: Diamond (MT)
    • Week 03: Technological Fix
    • Week 04: Harari (Part 1)
    • Week 05: Harari (Part 2) and Johnson (Part 1)
    • Week 06: Johnson (Part 2)
    • Week 07: Superfund (Part 1)
    • Week 08: Superfund (Part 2)
    • Week 09: Climate Science (Reidy)
    • Week 10: Climate Science (Steffen)
    • Week 11: Darwin
    • Week 12: Gould, Specter, Harris
    • Week 14: Harari (Part 3)
    • Week 15: Webinar

Category: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Evolution of Human Culture

September 17, 2018 Cameron Durfee

In his book Sapiens, Yuval Harari argues that the cognitive and the agricultural revolutions shaped our modern civilization. The cognitive…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT), Week 04: Harari (Part 1)

Protected: The Bitter Pill

September 6, 2018 Anna

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

I (don’t) bless the mines down in Montana (Africa)

Owen Pendergast

Often considered the subject of untouched natural beauty, Montana has had its fair share of negative factors contributing towards some…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The case of the Bitterrott Valley: one hundred and fifty-plus years of poor environmental foresight

Nathan Rubino

To thoroughly discuss the environmental issues that plague Montana’s seemingly pristine Bitterroot Valley would mean a deep-dive into a complex…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bittersweet Bitterroot

Connor Ludwig

All though the Bitterroot valley is known for being one of the best places to experience nature in the whole…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitterroot Forests Need Attention

Taylor Koth

Jared Diamond talks in-depth of the environmental issues that the Bitterroot Valley of Montana faces in his work “Under Montana’s…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental Issues: Killing Civilization since 600 BCE

Patrick Wolff

Located several miles south of Missoula, the Bitterroot Valley is unique in how it represents the problems of the modern…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Usual problems

Mckinley Paine

The issues that are facing the Bitterroot Valley are issues that face nearly all ecological places. That would be the…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

My Changing Home

September 5, 2018 Jay Harrison

Today in the Bitterroot Valley there lies two major environmental issues, water quality and forest fire danger. Such problems are…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Magestic to Synthetic, Unchecked Consumption of the Montana Frontier

Andrew McGrath

The condition of the Bitterroot Valley is degrading steadily. With the vast size of Montana and its relatively small population…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT) Filed under: Submitted Late

Abused and Beautiful

Spencer Felice

  Problems that have surfaced in Bitterroot Valley Montana started hundreds of years prior to the community actually taking notice…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitterroot Valley’s got 99 problems but beauty is not one!

September 4, 2018 Will Werner

The Bitterroot Valley faces many environmental problems such as increasing population, immigration, increasing scarcity and decreasing quality of water, poor…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana and her mishaps

Sydney Jones

After reading Diamonds information on Montana, I did gain a new perspective, even as someone who was born and raised…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Raindrops and Dry Tops

Cody Coffin 3 Comments

One of the main problems the Bitter Valley faces today is the decrease in the quality of the soil. In…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitter Times in the Bitterroot

Blaze Wiseman 4 Comments

Three main problems are currently being faced in the Bitterroot Valley in Western Montana. These problems include the decreasing quality…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Big Sky Big Problems

Emelyn Albright 4 Comments

The Bitterroot Valley of Montana faces the same environmental issues that plague and have plagued societies across the world. The…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Wheel of Weather (Bitterroot Valley Edition)

Ariella Alarid 24,036 Comments

I agree that Montana is a perfect example of the various environmental problems facing the world, however i do not…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

A Shrinking Big Sky

Sorcha Brooks 2 Comments

The Bitterroot Valley faces a host of environmental problems, including increased mining, farming, and urbanization, as well as improper forest…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Values of Consequence in the Bitterroot Valley

Hilary Rosa 2 Comments

The Bitterroot Valley of Montana faces issues concerning water quality, soil erosion, poor forest management, loss of industry, invasive species,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Dé·jà vu

Alexis Thull 4 Comments

The environmental problems that Bitterroot Valley currently faces have come to no surprise to many people in Montana. The first…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Diamond

Bryce Dawkins 3 Comments

Bryce Dawkins   Question 1:   Like all places the BitterRoot Valley has its problems, yes these may not be…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Fire : The Debate That Keeps Getting Hotter

Jacob Dass 5 Comments

A current problem that the Bitterroot Valley faces is the potential for large wildfires to occur. This comes from one…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The World Within The Valley

Alex Judge 2 Comments

Montana is known as the Big Sky country and holds the Last Best Place within it, aka Glacier National Park.…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Bitter Roots of Today

September 3, 2018 Marika Feduschak

The Bitterroot Valley’s environment problems include salinization of water caused by overgrazing of land and unsustainable agricultural practices, a higher…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

People Don’t Care, and They Never Have.

Natalie Carlson 4 Comments

Diamond summed up the environmental issues that Montana is currently facing as  “almost all of the dozen types of problems…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bison, Bears, and the Bitterroot Valley

Madelyn Hillis 1 Comment

Montana, despite being a state in which the collective ideology is one that encompasses everything to do with nature, has…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

What We Can Do For The World and The Bitterroot Valley?

Mia Thomas 1 Comment

The Bitterroot Valley is home to beautiful country, but also many issues within their environment. These issues include human impacts…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental Issues in Montana and the World

Logan Bonney 1 Comment

There are many environmental issues in Bitterroot valley Montana, but the two most relevant to me are logging and mining.…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Beauty vs Self Destruction

Sage McCleary 2 Comments

What types of environmental problems does the Bitterroot Valley of Montana currently face?  Are these problems historical in nature? Why…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitterroot Valley Case Study

Roman Oliman 2 Comments

The Bitterroot Valley of southwestern Montana faces a multitude of environmental issues today.  They only seem to get worse as…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental issues in the Bitteroot Valley

Sam Barber 4 Comments

The Bitterroot valley of southwestern Montana has more than a few environmental problems. Shrinking forests because of invasive insects and…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana is losing it’s roots and people are bitter

Erica Dobrowski 7 Comments

Erica Dobrowski Week 02   The Bitterroot Valley faces a lot of issues other more populated states faced years ago.…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Tradition and Tribulation – The Bitterroot Valley

Mary Hill Young 2 Comments

HST 207 – Blog Post 9/3/18 Mary Hill Young     At this point in time the Bitterroot valley, and…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitterroot Conundrum

Kayla Drake 1 Comment

                  The Bitterroot Valley located in southwestern Montana is, from the words of Jared Diamond, “a land of paradoxes.”…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Problems of Yesterday, Today

Cinnone Knight 2 Comments

     Montana, like the rest of the world, has its issues, environmental and otherwise. Montana’s environmental issues include toxic…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Let the Past be a Lesson

Matt Muir 4 Comments

While Montana may have some of the countries most pristine and untouched land, it does face a good amount of…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental Study of Montana’s Bitterroot Valley

Ryan Smart 1 Comment

This valley faces many environmental problems that Diamond reflects on in his texts. Toxic waste as a result from metal…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Simple answer to a simple question.

Jay Harrison

What is Yali’s question? Yali’s question is the entire basis for Jared Diamond’s book “Guns, Germs, and Steel” seeks to…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana’s Environment: Burnt & Poisoned

Hunter Strobel

As made evident in the first chapter of Diamond’s book “Collapse”, Montana is plagued by environmental problems ranging from poison…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental Problems in the Bitterroot Valley

Ayla Johnsen

Fires, forest deterioration, damage from introduced pest species, losses of soil or its nutrients, poor air quality, and effects of…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Are we asking too much of our land?

Nick Leach 1 Comment

Currently, the Bitterroot Valley of Montana is facing a multitude of environmental concerns. All levels, from in the earth to…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Big Sky Big Consequence

Ellie Polk

  The Bitterroot Valley of Montana currently faces environmental problems that are very much characteristic of the mountain west since…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Bitter Truth

Katherine Stobie 2 Comments

There are two types of environmental problems facing the Bitterroot valley. These problems are either modern or they are more…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Impact of You and Me

Wyatt Ayers 1 Comment

Wyatt Ayers The Bitterroot valley currently faces a handful of problems that are in direct relation with the increasing population…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Parks and (w)Rec'(king our environment)

Steve Quinn 2 Comments

The Bitterroot Valley experiences environmental challenges that are typical of societies and ecosystems globally, including climate change, toxic waste pollution,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

To Clean or Not to Clean

Rachael Smith 1 Comment

Bitterroot Valley of Montana currently is facing an issue of contamination, while there are many rising issues the main one…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The collapse of the Bitterroot Valley and Montana

Cameron Durfee 1 Comment

The Bitterroot valley in Southwestern Montana faces many environmental issues. Many people would not think of Southwestern Montana as a…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Bitterroot Valley: Historically Unclean?

Colleen May 1 Comment

Montana’s Bitterroot Valley is a place most famous for its smaller towns, clean rivers, open air, and recreational opportunities. However,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Environmental-Societal Cycle

Logan Vining

When discussing the environmental issues facing the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, Jared Diamond begins by highlighting the toxic wastes produced…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Significance of Yali’s Question and the Questions it Poses

Patrick Phattharaampornchai 21 Comments

Survival of the fittest is a famous phrase to describe both the evolution of species and the rise and fall…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Not all environmental circumstances are created equal.

Nick Lemon 2 Comments

The Bitterroot Valley faces many environmental challenges. These challenges were, and still are, primarily caused by irresponsibility and, in some…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Surviving Change

Tyler Krueger 1 Comment

The environmental problems currently affecting the Bitterroot Valley include; poor air quality, toxic wastes, forest deterioration, loss of soil nutrients,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Problems, Humans, and the Future

Alexia Gonzales 1 Comment

Toxic wastes from mining, logging, forest fires, salinization, water quantity, biodiversity loss, and introduced pests are among the various environmental…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Butt(e)hole of Montana

Alex Sutherland 1 Comment

Problems in the Bitterroot valley include increasing population, immigration, decreasing quality of water, poor air quality, forest fires, toxic waste,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Big Sky State and Bigger Problems

Jason Pichette

As Jared Diamond thoroughly explained in Under Montana’s Big Sky, Montana, and more specifically the Bitterroot valley faces many environmental…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Big Sky, Big Issues

Cassie Andrews

“Not until 1971 did the state of Montana pass a law requiring mining companies to clean up their property when…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Drop the anti-government attitude

Linnea Fristam 1 Comment

As Diamond mentions, “environmentally Montana is perhaps the least damaged of the lower 48 states” (Diamond 33). Montana, compared to…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitterroot Valley vs. the World

J. Beckett Sweeney

As listed in the reading, many of the Bitterroot Valley’s environmental problems are as follows: “increasing scarcity and decreasing quality…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana and the World Repeating the Past

Shayne Utter

Imminent over-population and common effects of said over-population such as, access and quality to fresh water, changing air quality, harmful…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

People are bitter about environmental issues and roots in this valley

Sophie Black 1 Comment

In the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, there are a variety of environmental issues, including climate change, logging, and water quality.…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

people make a difference

Kathleen Warren 1 Comment

The bitterroot valley faces problems of pollution, drought, wildfires, and other environmental problems. These problems were in part brought on…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Whats Going On in the Bitterroot Valley

Conor Bianchi

Over the past 50 years, the Bitterroot Valley of Montana has been experiencing both an influx of wealthy homeowners as…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana’s metal problem

Maxwell Alvord

Maxwell Alvord September 3, 2018 Under Montana’s big Sky During  Jared Diamonds interludes from New Guinea he spends time in…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

A river (of copper) runs through it

Edward Cooke 1 Comment

Bitterroot Valley Due the influence of private industry, the Bitterroot valley of southwest montana is facing some expensive environmental issues.…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana has been going down like a skier on Bridger

Evan Scaraglino

Some current day environmental problems the Bitterroot Valley faces today is an increasing population and immigration, increasing scarcity and decreasing…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Human impact

Peyton McElroy

The Bitterroot valley and Montana at large are faced with a whole host of environmental problems like low amounts of…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Bitter Truth About the Bitterroot Valley

John Jones

The Bitterroot Valley faces a number of environmental struggles, most notably the fallout from mining and excessive human interaction in…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

How Climate and Geography Shaped Society

Kilian Swirtz 1

Yali’s question basically asks why some groups of society flourished while others simply did not. He asks why the Europeans…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Soil Saltier Than Your Ex

Hali Kapperud 1 Comment

In Diamond’s Under Montana’s Big Sky, several types of environmental problems that the Bitterroot Valley of Montana currently faces are…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

digging beneath the soil

Fritz Arnold 1 Comment

Fritz Arnold Blog Week 2 Today the Bitterroot Valley is facing a quite a few environmental complications. Some are obvious,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Big Issues in Big Sky

Carly Zell

In “Under Montana’s Big Sky” Jared Diamond lists nearly a dozen environmental problems in Montana today. These issues include problems…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana and its apocalyptic future

Jose Alarcon Cascales

The main environmental problems Montana is currently facing and had their roots in the past are toxic waters, logging, burning…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana’s Take on the World’s Problems

Mathew Shea

Montana, being a place of Limited rainfall, high altitudes, and distance from population centers makes it agriculturally non competitive, this…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Mining for Problems

Diana Lester

The Bitterroot Valley is dealing with “toxic wastes, forests, soils, water (and sometimes air), climate change, biodiversity losses, and introduced…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana Exemplifying Global Environment Concerns

Garrett Hartley

Throughout the Bitteroot Valley of Montana there are many environmental issues, some of which beginning over a century ago and…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Death of the Earth from Carelessness

Morgan Johnson 1 Comment

The Bitterroot Valley faces a variety of environmental issues, many of which stem from how the land has been treated…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental Madness in Montana’s Mountains

Dexter Jarrett

The Bitterroot Valley’s most significant environmental problems today include toxic wastes, forest degradation, soil issues, water issues, air pollution, climate…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitter Problems in the Bitterroot and Beyond

Ty Gentry 1 Comment

  The environmental problems the Bitterroot Valley currently faces are toxic mining waste, deforestation, salinization and erosion, climate change, and…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Bitterroot Valley’s Foreshadowing of the Future

Audrey Schied 1 Comment

The most pressing problems in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley—some of the most notable including toxic wastes, depleting usable water and lumber,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

My Two Cents About Montana and The Environment in 297 Words

Madalyn Alderman 1 Comment

Montana’s Bitterroot Valley currently faces several environmental problems that are suffered by many parts of the country, but which are…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Water We Going to Do?

Amanda Larson

Montana faces a number of problems from toxic wastes and problems in forestry, to poor soil, poor water quality, and…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental Issues Under the Big Sky

Hannah Ludlow

Diamond spends the first of several pages discussing the sublime beauty of south-western Montana. He proceeds to point out the…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

The Bitter End of Montana

Ben Schwartz 1 Comment

Throughout Western Montana, current and past human activity has created a variety of environmental problems. These issues are combinations of…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Whiskey is drinking, water is for fighting

William Green

The Bitterroot Valley is facing a number of environmental challenges as a result of historical decisions, current changes in the…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environment of Greed

Rachel Bragg

The Bitterroot Valley of Montana is full of paradoxes, it is beautiful with its flora, yet these plants can actively…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Looking Beyond the Big Sky

Catherine Vejvoda

After reading Jared Diamond’s article “Under Montana’s Big Sky,” I realized that Montana is suffering from a lot of Environmental…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Survival of the Beautiful

Kendra Fischer 1 Comment

Numerous problems threaten the ecosystem found within the Bitterroot Valley, ranging from logging to mining and the dangers associated.  Many…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Saving Big Sky for Future Generations

Sean Jungst

“Montana is perhaps the least damaged of the lower 48 states” (Diamond, 30). We are fortunate to live in such…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

A Mountain of a Problem

Jacob Lunsford

There are many types of environmental problems that not only the Bitterroot Valley of Montana is facing, but the entire…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Environmental Change In The Bitterroot Valley: Too Close To Home

Seamus Andersen

The Bitterroot Valley is currently faced with numerous problems today as stated by Jared Diamond himself. In Diamond’s book Collapse…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Forests, rivers, farming and a lack of public civil discourse.

Noah Hense 1 Comment

Currently the Bitter Root Valley faces issues of low quantity and quality of water, depleting profitability of agriculture, environmental damage…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Nothing New Under the Big Sky

Cole Satrom

Jared Diamond argues in his chapter, Under the Montana’s Big Sky, that all of the environmental issues facing the Bitterroot…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Under the Big, Mining Sky

John Stoppler

In “Under Montana’s Big Sky”, Diamond writes about many of the environmental problems that the Bitterroot valley faces which many,…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Mountains & Mines

September 2, 2018 Daniel Alexander

The Bitterroot Valley in Southwestern Montana faces many environmental problems as much of the rest of the world does. One…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

Montana In Mayhem

Jacob Kelley

The bitterroot valley of western Montana has been and is currently effected by many different environmental issues. These issues are…

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Posted in: Week 02: Diamond (MT)

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