Sustainability
Confronting climate change impacts, tribes prepare and persist
This story is the last in a series. Read part one on infrastructure issues here, and part two on environmental consequences here. It can take up to a century for a piñon pine to produce the soft sweet seeds that birds, squirrels and other small mammals rely on for food. The Walker River Paiute Tribe has […]
Upstream solutions lead to downstream problems for Tribal plants and animals
This story is the second in a series. Read the first part on infrastructure issues here. Sometimes the Pyramid Lake Fisheries director peers out from Popcorn Rock — a humorously shaped chunk of limestone — to watch the delta where the mouth of the Truckee River meets the lake. Through his tenure with the Pyramid […]
From not enough water to too much: Floods in Nevada bring pain and relief
This story is the first in a series. Find part two on environmental consequences here. It’s the second year in a row the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe have had to hook tarps over roofs torn apart by historic storms and prepare temporary shelter for shaken residents. The tribe has lived in what’s now known as […]
Report of giant lithium find underscores need for less ‘sloppy’ permitting, conservationist says
An ancient supervolcano formed millions of years ago in present-day Nevada may be hiding the largest deposit of lithium found anywhere in the world. And one U.S. mining company owns the rights to a small portion of it. A new study published in Science Advances hypothesizes that the McDermitt Caldera — which sits on the […]
Feds’ cash stream supports Colorado River conservation — but the money will dry up
Despite a megadrought, states in the West have been able to avoid drastic cuts to their allocations of Colorado River water this year not only because of surprising storms but also thanks to generous financial incentives from all levels of government that have encouraged people to conserve. The temporary Colorado River water-sharing agreement that Arizona, […]
U.S. Senate panel grapples with how to ensure access to water amid Western drought
Decades of drought in the West has made water quality and quantity a major issue requiring government funding and innovation to fix, members of a U.S. Senate panel said Wednesday. Demand for water in growing municipalities is stretching agricultural and tribal communities, while shrinking availability is leading to higher water prices, witnesses told the Senate […]
NV Energy exec: Meeting renewable portfolio standard to be challenging and costly for ratepayers
An NV Energy executive told Clark County commissioners Tuesday that a legislative mandate to ensure half of its energy is from renewable sources by 2030 “is going to be a challenge.” “I’ll be honest,” said Jimmy Daghlian, vice president of renewable energy, during an update on the utility’s efforts to transition away from fossil fuels..“We’re […]
Hurricane Hilary could be part of a trend, study says
As climate change heats up the ocean, unusual Pacific storms like Hurricane Hilary and flooding summer rains could be a peek into the future of the West Coast. Global sea surface temperatures reached record highs in 2022, with parts of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico all engulfed in abnormally intense and persistent […]
August rains clear drought in three-quarters of Nevada
More than three-quarters of Nevada are fully drought free after an abnormally wet August in the state. Nearly 80% of the state is drought-free with no severe or significant drought for the first time since April 2020, according to the National Weather Service. Only Clark County remains in drought watch. Still, two powerful storm systems […]
New federal water pollution rule draws mixed reaction
A federal rule limiting agencies’ power to regulate water pollution will severely restrict protections for waters and wetlands throughout the country, but could also be subject to challenges from conservative groups that maintain the new rule exerts more federal jurisdiction than the U.S. Supreme Court intended in a May decision. With the rule published Tuesday to redefine […]
NV ranks 4th in clean energy jobs for communities of color
Nevada’s communities of color are benefiting from major federal investments in clean energy related projects, according to a new report. According to the Department of Energy’s latest energy and employment report, the clean energy workforce is more diverse than other energy sectors. Employees in the wind, solar, and electric transmission jobs have higher rates of […]
Southern Nevada at risk of losing tree shade to extreme heat
Southern Nevada is at risk of losing the few trees it has due to extreme heat, a loss that would only exacerbate how unevenly protective tree shade is distributed across communities in one of the fastest-warming metros in the nation. As climate change disruption continues at a faster pace than predicted by climate scientists, the […]