Sustainability
Cortez Masto working on tax credits for battery, rare earth industries
Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is crafting legislation to give tax credits to battery and rare earth magnet manufacturers to increase production of materials used in electric vehicles and other technologies, an effort she says would create more jobs in the state’s mineral processing and recycling sector. Members of the Senate Energy and Natural […]
Some cities and states say big oil should pay for climate damage
In the waning days of 2021, a grass fire broke out in Boulder County, Colorado. Fueled by extreme drought and high winds, the fire swept through the communities of Superior and Louisville. Within hours, it had destroyed more than a thousand structures—making the Marshall Fire the most destructive in the state’s history. The December fire […]
House panel grills oil executives at hearing on gas prices
Democrats blamed the oil industry, Republicans blamed President Joe Biden and oil executives blamed global market forces at a U.S. House hearing Wednesday on how to reverse a dramatic increase in gas prices. Over nearly six hours, members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and executives from six oil companies […]
Toad whose habitat is at geothermal project site is emergency listed as endangered
A rare Nevada toad at the center of a lawsuit over a geothermal energy project will be granted an emergency listing under the Endangered Species Act, federal wildlife managers said Monday. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Dixie Valley toad will be temporarily listed as endangered and be provided immediate federal protections […]
Switch to electric vehicles could save billions of dollars and hundreds of lives in Nevada, says report
A widespread transition to electric vehicles could save nearly 700 lives and $7.5 billion in public health spending in Nevada between 2020 and 2050, according to a new report by the American Lung Association. The ALA report attempts to calculate the benefits of a national shift to 100% sale of zero-emission passenger cars and light-duty […]
Sagebrush restoration is infrastructure, say bipartisan group of Western senators
Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen is calling on Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to fund sagebrush restoration in the American West in an effort to boost wildfire mitigation efforts, create jobs, and support the regional economy. On Tuesday Rosen, a Democrat, and Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo led a group of Western Senators who urged Haaland to […]
New state-federal agreement aims to expand outdoor recreation while protecting environment
With more people exploring Nevada’s public lands than ever before, impacts to the landscape are on the rise. This raises concern amongst conservationists and state officials about how best to protect the environment. Gov. Steve Sisolak on Wednesday signed a shared stewardship agreement focused on expanding outdoor recreation opportunities. The partnership brings together a dozen […]
Climate change has made allergy season longer and more intense, researchers find
By the end of the century, allergy season could start 40 days earlier and last 19 days longer due to climate change — potentially increasing the pollen count by 250% and making allergies far more intense, new research shows. According to a study published in Nature Communications last week, as temperatures get hotter, trees, grasses, […]
Lake Powell levels decline below critical threshold
The second largest reservoir on the Colorado River has dipped below a key water level for the first time, despite emergency releases from upper basin reservoirs last summer and fall meant to prevent the troubling milestone. On Tuesday, Lake Powell fell under 3,525 feet above sea level, a critical threshold that gives water managers a […]
AMC Theaters buys stake in small – and unprofitable – Nevada gold mine
In an unusual move cinema giant AMC Theaters has agreed to buy a major stake in a small Nevada gold and silver mining company. The movie theater chain announced Tuesday that it would purchase 22% of Hycroft Mining Holding Corp., which operates the 71,000-acre Hycroft mine in northern Nevada, for $56 million. The mine, 55 […]
Federal judge rejects NV tribe’s attempt to join lithium mine suit
A Nevada federal judge on Friday rejected a legal effort by the Winnemucca Indian Colony to join a lawsuit attempting to stop a lithium mining project at Thacker Pass, a religiously and culturally significant area considered sacred to the tribe. Also last week, Department of Interior attorneys urged the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals […]
Utah water pipeline proposal premised on faulty population estimates, critics say
As the battle over a planned groundwater pipeline near the Utah-Nevada border continues, conservation groups and state water officials are now clashing over the accuracy of population estimates propelling the project. Booming population growth in southern Utah and increased drought in the region led the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District to plan a 70-mile […]