Sustainability
COP27’s ‘loss and damage’ fund for developing countries: Breakthrough, or empty promise?
Developing nations were justifiably jubilant at the close of COP27 as negotiators from wealthy countries around the world agreed for the first time to establish a dedicated “loss and damage” fund for vulnerable countries harmed by climate change. It was an important and hard fought acknowledgment of the damage – and of who bears at […]
End of Title 42 a hard-won victory, but the work of creating a humane approach to migration remains
A Federal District Court judge in D.C. ordered the Department of Homeland Security to end the use of Title 42 at the U.S. border on Tuesday night. Frustratingly, in spite of the fact that it has been in place for close to three years, Title 42 never got the attention it deserved as a devastating […]
Coal plant operators shirking responsibilities on ash cleanup, report contends
In the wake of major coal ash spills from power plant containment ponds in Tennessee and into the Dan River along the North Carolina and Virginia border, the federal Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 laid out the first federal rules for managing the ash, one of the nation’s largest waste streams, and the toxins it […]
As a national monument, Avi Kwa Ame would also be a local refuge
On October 12, 2022, the Nation celebrated President Biden’s historic decision to designate his administration’s first National Monument at Camp Hale, 20 miles north of Leadville, Colorado. Deep in the Rocky Mountains at 9,200 feet elevation, the new Continental Divide National Monument, CDNM, spanning more than 53,800 acres, respectfully recognizes our World War II veterans. […]
Even as drought forces water cutbacks, climate gets short shrift in midterm election
The streaks of white on the rock ringing the nation’s largest reservoir show how far its water levels have dropped since it was last full. Lake Mead and nearby Lake Powell, which send water to 40 million people in the Southwest, are at their lowest levels since they were filled in the 1930s as part […]
NV lithium extraction and battery manufacturing facilities get $107M federal boost
New battery manufacturing facilities are coming to Nevada and will receive more than $100 million dollars of federal funding, a move meant to fulfill the Biden Administration’s commitment to ensure that half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 are electric and to transition to a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Two Nevada companies specializing […]
The price of gas doesn’t care who you vote for
Voters tell pollsters their top concern is inflation, and the rising cost voters point to most frequently is the price of gas. The price of gas is also the problem elected officials can do least about. Republicans contend Biden Administration policies are to blame for gas prices, because a clean energy agenda has thwarted energy […]
The only bad thing about switching from gas is it isn’t done yet
One day in 1991 when I was a reporter in Casper, Wyoming, the Amoco oil refinery shut down. Needless to say Amoco blamed all those darned burdensome federal environmental regulations. Those regulations (under a Republican administration at the time but I digress) must have been incredibly harsh and burdensome indeed: If I recall, a few […]
Half of sagebrush rangelands are on the brink of collapse – scientists have a plan to revive them
Sagebrush rangelands have supported cultures and wildlife in the arid West for millennia, yet today, those same ranges of grassland are echoes of what they were. The complex network of native grasses and wildflowers sustains thousands of species across millions of acres, from burrowing owls and pygmy rabbits to pronghorn antelope and mountain lions. Many […]
Hurricane Ian brings a surge of the usual pointless pundits
There are three irritating things you can depend on when a major storm takes aim at the Gulf Coast and other storm-vulnerable areas of the country. We’re experiencing them yet again as Hurricane Ian wallops a large section of Florida. First, you can count on The Weather Channel to send Jim Cantore and other poor […]
Amid a massive American clean energy shift, grid operators play catch-up.
For the better part of the past century, the American electric power system evolved around large, mostly fossil fuel power plants delivering electricity to residences, businesses and industry through a network of transmission and distribution wires that collectively came to be called the electric grid. But as the threat of climate change driven by carbon […]
Groups shift to registering, turning out young voters through issues like climate crisis
While polls show economic issues and particularly inflation are top of mind for likely voters, some groups are hopeful that political messaging focused on climate issues will help drive first-time voters — especially young ones – to the polls. On Tuesday, as part of National Voter Registration Day, the Nevada Conservation League and Chispa held […]