Sustainability
Australian firm gets South African funding for Nevada lithium mine
An effort to develop the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine west of Tonopah gained financing under an agreement announced Thursday in which South African mining company Sibanye-Stillwater will contribute $490 million to a joint venture with ioneer LTD, the Australian firm that has been trying to develop the project. The proposed open-pit mine is opposed […]
Will Thacker Pass be another Keystone?
After tribes secured the death of the Keystone XL pipeline, Native organizers in Nevada are looking to get the same results for the planned Thacker Pass lithium mine. Excavation on sacred native lands was allowed to proceed at the Thacker Pass project earlier this month after a federal judge denied tribal leaders’ requests to temporarily […]
EPA confirms climate impacts are more adverse for racial minorities in the Southwest
The worst effects of climate change are disproportionately falling on “underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts,” according to an Environmental Protection Agency report released last week. The peer-reviewed report forecasts how the impacts of climate change will be distributed across […]
Four big climate items in the reconciliation bill in Congress
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee late Thursday approved its first piece of Democrats’ sweeping $3.5 trillion spending blueprint on a party-line 24-13 vote. Among the highest priorities for President Joe Biden in the plan was addressing climate change, and the panel included initiatives ranging from oil and gas reform to offshore wind ventures. The […]
Call for end to killing contests spreads north to Reno City Council
Disgust with Nevada’s wildlife killing contests, which attract hunters from nearby states where the practice is illegal, is not drawn along the geographic lines that divide the state’s north and south, as the Reno City Council proved Wednesday when it voted six to one in favor of a resolution to stop the competitions. “This is […]
Bears, beleaguered by fires and drought, face hunters
Nevada’s black bears, driven by drought, fire, and smoke from their habitats in the high country around Lake Tahoe, are about to face another existential threat — hunters. The state’s season for hunting bears begins Sept. 15, but environmental organizations and animal activists are asking the governor and wildlife officials to call off the hunt […]
Dormant for years, mining oversight committee is getting resurrected
A dormant committee originally created to ask tough questions about Nevada’s lucrative mining industry may soon be revived. Gov. Steve Sisolak announced in a press release Tuesday that “progress has been made toward completing appointments” to the Mining Oversight and Accountability Commission. The seven-member commission was created by the Nevada State Legislature in 2011, but […]
White House seeks at least $24B to aid states struck by hurricanes, wildfires
WASHINGTON — The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion — and likely more — for disaster relief costs, saying that the aid should be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events including hurricanes, floods and wildfires during the last […]
House Democrats kick off reconciliation process with $30 billion Interior bill
The House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday inched toward approval of a $30 billion bill to fund climate, tribal and environmental programs. Thursday’s meeting marked the first time a congressional committee considered any piece of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending plan meant to fundamentally change U.S. health, climate, education and tax policy. Democrats plan to move […]
Officials hope $75 million will leverage much more for ‘public purpose’ projects
The elusive idea of “Infrastructure Week” circulated by the Trump Administration promising a trillion-dollars to fix the nation’s deteriorating and neglected roads, bridges and airports never quite materialized. Nevada’s “Infrastructure Week,” which kicked off in mid-August with the launch of the State Infrastructure Bank, though substantially smaller in scope, seems to be actually taking shape. […]
Tribes seek pause on development of lithium mine
A U.S. federal judge heard arguments against a planned lithium mine from attorneys for Native American tribes on Friday who say the mine would cause irreparable harm to sacred native lands. The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Burns Paiute Tribe and the People of Red Mountain were granted permission to join a lawsuit seeking to block Lithium […]
With virtually everyone against it, NDOT scraps option to run I-11 through Lake Mead Rec Area
For years the Nevada Department of Transportation has proposed building a new highway system for the Interstate 11 Corridor that would run through the City of Henderson and protected public lands, including Rainbow Gardens and the Lake Mead Recreation Area. Those plans, known as the “eastern alternative corridor,” have now been abandoned after ongoing public […]