Troubling environmental damage must be mitigated

By Janelle Losoff, Henderson

Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015 | 2 a.m.

As a Las Vegas Valley resident since 2003 and a visitor since 1977, I have seen the valley grow and change. I love our valley and am excited our economy seems to be improving. Yet, I am concerned about other trends that might hurt us.

Some argue that climate change is not real, but as an observer of nature, I can tell something is not right. Back in 1977, the valley didn’t have that brown-yellow haze over it, and Lake Mead was filled with nearly 28 million acre-feet of water. Today, it seems too hot; my water and electric bills are too high; my grass is dead; and my mature, nondesert trees are dying.

I am not happy. Please tell me: What good is a booming economy if our air is too hot and dirty and we are out of water? Climate scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that January through April this year ranked as Earth’s hottest ever, following the hottest year previously, 2014. This is frightening.

I believe President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan is a step forward for Nevada. Please, let’s work together to reduce carbon pollution by improving energy efficiency in our homes and buildings and by continuing to increase the amount of power we get from renewable sources, such as solar and geothermal. We can make our valley more profitable and sustainable by driving our cars less, planting drought-resistant plants and shrubs, and cutting water and electricity use during the heat of the day. We can turn down the heat and the air conditioning. Together we can tackle that brown haze of pollution over our valley and help our valley get healthy again.

The valley and economy we save will be our own. Neighbors, please help.