Utah doesn't need Firearms Freedom Act

monday » There's a movement in the Legislature to send a message about two issues dear to the hearts of conservative ideologues: gun regulation and state sovereignty. The beauty of the proposed Firearms Freedom Act, in their eyes, is that it wraps the two in a single, neat package. However, like many message bills, argues The Tribune Editorial Board in the editorial "Firearms freedom," this one should be a dead letter. The point of the bill is to assert that the federal government has no legitimate constitutional power to regulate firearms that are manufactured in the state of Utah and are not traded beyond its borders. If federal gun regulations were onerous, we would be more sympathetic. But they're not. Utah has a flourishing gun trade, and it is the U.S. capital of concealed-carry permits. So where's the beef?

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Canal deal is worth the investment

tuesday » There's a lot to like about the joint venture proposed by two Logan-area canal companies, which would form the Cache Highland Water Association in an attempt to carry out a $25 million canal improvement project. But topping the list is bypassing the dangerous section of the Logan & Northern that contributed to a mudslide that killed Jacqueline Leavey and her two children in their Canyon Road home last July. In the editorial "Killer canal," the editorial board points out the deal's benefits: For the residents of Canyon

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Road in Logan, it means never having to fear the deadly Logan & Northern Canal again. For Logan & Northern shareholders, it means a steady supply of irrigation water for their homes and farms. And for the shareholders of the Logan, Hyde Park and Smithfield Canal Co., it means vital upgrades to an aging canal that loses more than 20 percent of its water to leaks.

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Debate is over on climate change

wednesday » A debate over climate change could be a very productive thing. Let's debate how best to deal with the effects of human-caused climate change. Let's debate how best to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, how to encourage energy conservation, how to make electric cars more affordable and electricity cleaner. But, the editorial board points out in the editorial "Debate over," arguing over whether the Earth's climate is warming and whether humans are the cause is useless. That debate is over. It continues only in the minds of doubters like Gov. Gary Herbert, who plans a "civil debate" on the science. If Herbert reads the reams of research available online, he'll realize that, in order to bring together representative numbers of climate-change deniers and climatologists who believe the evidence, he'd need dozens of chairs on one side of the room and maybe one on the other. That's because 97 percent of legitimate climate scientists warn of the consequences of increasing carbon emissions.