Sustainability
Indigenous runners fight to protect water, culture
This story spans 29 years, 300 miles, and the growth of a thirsty city in a desert. The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), on a mission to find water to accommodate growth in Southern Nevada, believes pumping groundwater from rural Nevada and piping it to Southern Nevada is essential due to Colorado River shortages that […]
Congress poised to cut money for parks
Saturday is National Public Lands Day and admission is free to any of the nation’s parks. If you’ve been meaning to enjoy the great outdoors, you may want to go while your favorite spot is still in good shape. From the park around the corner to Nevada’s national recreation areas, the places we play are in […]
Environmental groups praise NV Energy but are mixed on Question 3
Clean energy advocates turned out en masse to a meeting of the Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday to heap praise upon NV Energy for promising to invest more in renewables. Back in June, NV Energy unveiled its latest “integrated resource plan” — a lengthy, wonky document it is required to submit to its regulatory body […]
Pipeline opponents to SNWA: See you in court
Less than a week after the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) board voted unanimously to appeal a recent ruling by the state engineer that denied the authority water rights for its groundwater pumping and pipeline project, opponents are taking the matter back to court. Monday, a broad coalition of 59 organizations and individuals opposed to […]
SNWA – and Sisolak – keep ‘water grab’ alive
The Southern Nevada Water Authority board voted unanimously Thursday to forge ahead on plans to pump groundwater from rural Nevada and pipe it to Las Vegas. The board voted to appeal a recent ruling that denied the authority’s water rights for a controversial groundwater pipeline project that would siphon more than 7.8 billion gallons of […]
Whose endorsement is it anyway?
In a battle of endorsements, clean energy groups weigh in on upcoming ballot measures. In a joint statement, Solar Energy Industries Association and the Vote Solar Action Fund announced its support for Question 6. If passed, it would require all Nevada electric service providers to generate or acquire at least half their power from renewable […]
Geothermal industry comes out against Question 3
The Geothermal Resources Council Policy Committee, an industry association that advocates for public policies that will promote the development and utilization of geothermal resources, has announced its opposition to the proposed Energy Choice Initiative on the 2018 ballot. If passed Question 3 would direct the Nevada Legislature to “establish an open, competitive retail electric energy […]
What Question 3 and Question 6 say about renewable energy
Let’s talk about that energy initiative. No, not that one. The other one. There are two energy-related questions on the ballot this November — Question 3 (known as the Energy Choice Initiative) and Question 6 (known as the Renewable Energy Standard Initiative). If you’ve heard of the former but not the latter, you wouldn’t be […]
Trump’s plan to boost coal will hurt Nevada, groups warn
Nevada conservationists joined the chorus of critics nationwide and blasted the Trump administration’s plan to boost output at coal-burning power plants. Trump moved formally Tuesday to replace President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, an environmental policy that aimed to curb climate change by moving the power sector away from coal and toward renewable energy sources […]
Conservationists hail ruling against “water grab”
A ruling Friday could mark the end of a three-decade fight over the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) plan to pump groundwater from eastern Nevada aquifers to Las Vegas, according to critics of the “water grab.” But the state engineer promised that water permit denials issued by the Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) Friday […]
Mi Familia Vota: Question 3 hurts minorities, low-income communities
Mi Familia Vota, a national nonprofit with a record of active organization within Southern Nevada’s Latino communities, announced its opposition to Question 3 Friday, saying it could potentially harm people of color. If passed, the ballot measure would amend the Nevada constitution to allow companies to sell electricity on an open market. It has heavy […]
Environmental groups redoubling outreach to people of color
Communities of color are more vulnerable to environmental health hazards, the impacts of climate change and environmental injustices. National reports continue to confirm the persistence of environmental racism — how racial minorities are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues like pollution. A study released this year in the American Journal of Public Health found African Americans […]