On its 2014 Infrastructure Report Card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Nevada a C- overall. But this year, ASCE representatives told legislators that the state is “on the right track,” noting improvements in highways, the renewable energy portfolio and use of drone technology. How healthy are Nevada’s bones?
In 1989, when Clark County's population was about 700,000, the Las Vegas Valley Water District faced the possibility of a water shortage going into the 21st century. The water district, a predecessor to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, proposed a multibillion-dollar pipeline to convey billions of gallons of groundwater from rural counties northeast of Las Vegas. Nearly three decades later, plans to ...
The West, known for hot summers, is getting a glimpse of what the future might hold if climate change continues at the current pace. Studies show that greenhouse gas emissions, which alter Earth’s thermodynamics, make heat waves not only more likely but also more severe.
Solar energy efficiency varies with the weather. Utilities are used to that. And in Nevada, cloudy days are few and far between. But what happens to solar energy when Earth is hit by a more disruptive event? In August, a solar eclipse is expected to interfere with solar power in Nevada and several other ...
What would the “Moneyball” casino look like? As a Ph.D. candidate studying big data at UNLV, Ray Cho has given some thought to this question. Cho, who has 20 years of experience in the hotel industry, works as an analyst manager at American Casino & Entertainment Properties. With advancements in computing and machine learning, businesses across ...
Throughout the region, from the state level to the local level, water is overallocated. That includes the Colorado River, which serves 40 million people across seven Western states and parts of Mexico. Demand is expected to rise, and questions remain about how water will be valued and portioned out. One concept has momentum ...
In 2012, President Obama issued a 20-year ban on mining claims near the Grand Canyon. The move halted future uranium extraction projects in the region, a win for ...
The desert tortoise’s lobbyists are well-known to solar developers and the country’s largest utility. They have successfully battled wind farms and rancher Cliven Bundy. As a threatened species, the squat land crawler continually frustrates developers and engages environmentalists as a rallying symbol. After years of litigation, a Virginia-based company confirmed ...
