Phoebe Sweet

Reporter/ Utilities and Environment

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Story Archive

Sun shines on solar again: Caving to public, political pressure, BLM lifts moratorium; Thursday, July 3, 2008; The Bureau of Land Management clearly had no idea what kind of blowback it would receive when, a month ago, it closed the door on applications to build solar plants on federal land in Nevada and five other Southwest states to buy time to study their environmental consequences.
Anti-warming proposals soft on industry: Friday, June 27, 2008; A Nevada committee’s report about how to combat climate change stands out from its counterparts in other Western states because it does not aggressively target the two industries responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions.
BLM leaves Reid out of the loop: He learns of big delay for new solar plants in region from the paper; Monday, June 23, 2008; Before bureaucrats slammed the door for almost two years on new solar plants on 119 million acres of federal land they manage in six western states, they might have mentioned it to Harry Reid.
Mussels’ last meal: Scientists want to add bacteria that are lethal to invasive mollusks to water at Hoover or Davis dams, but they say tests will be done to ensure safety; Friday, June 20, 2008; They are so common they’re swimming in your spoiled milk, growing on the cheese left too long in the back of the fridge. But if bacteria were about to be released into your drinking water supply, would you worry? The Bureau of Reclamation says you shouldn’t.
Solar plant builders decry freeze: Federal study of environmental effects comes with a moratorium on new project applications; Wednesday, June 18, 2008; The federal government will do a sweeping study of the environmental effects of solar power plant development on public land in the Southwest, in part to speed up approval of solar projects.
Cash for grass program taking steps to entice more businesses: Tuesday, June 17, 2008; Nearly 5,400 homeowners ripped out about 6.5 million square feet of grass from their yards last year as part of the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s program to replace water-wasting turf with desert landscaping.
Landfill’s little helper: Sewage sludge ‘cakes’: Malodorous in the backs of garbage trucks, yes, but they’re useful; Wednesday, June 11, 2008; Next time you’re stuck in traffic and can’t figure out where that whiff of, oh, shall we say “post-digestion” odor is coming from, just look around for a red Republic Services dump truck.
Scientist: Warming bodes ill for water: Thursday, June 5, 2008; Federal scientists and Western water managers will call Congress’ attention Friday to the potentially devastating effects of climate change on the Colorado River, warning that an expected warming trend would reduce the amount of water in the river.
Flash! Stealing electricity is risky business: Thursday, May 29, 2008; Before the live wire carrying stolen electricity disappeared into the thief’s house, the line snaked past community mailboxes — putting moms, toddlers and everyone else in the neighborhood at risk of electrocution.
Leave the wild burro be: Wildlife officials ask park visitors to admire them from a distance; Wednesday, May 21, 2008; To most tourists, Southern Nevada’s wild burros are long-eared cuties that eat Cheetos from the palms of their hands.
Gas ‘peakers’ set to kick in when weather sizzles: Jet-engine-like units joining gas plant, solar panels near U.S. 95; Monday, May 19, 2008; Just in time for the triple-digit heat, Nevada Power Co. expects to have the first phase of a $404 million project in the heart of Clark County ready to help keep air conditioners whirring.
Looking into the nuclear abyss: Nevada Test Site tourists are assured it’s perfectly safe; Sunday, May 18, 2008; Nearly every month, two tour buses rumble past a ghost town of blown-out houses and concrete bomb shelters, throwing up a cloud of dust.
Planned coal plant gives up its water source: Some see step as sign Mesquite-area coal burner won’t be built; Tuesday, May 6, 2008; Sithe Global Power has to have water for its 750-megawatt Toquop plant but has let the contract with its water supplier lapse. Opponents of the plant are hoping that’s the first sign the developer’s commitment to the plant is waning.
A coal-fired discussion: Four experts debate how best to meet Nevada’s energy needs; Sunday, May 4, 2008; Proposals to build coal-fired power plants have brought the debate over global climate change home to Nevadans. Coal provides half the nation’s electricity, and a fifth of Nevada’s power, but many people think it’s time to break our reliance on the shiny black rock and start using the sun, wind and heat of the Earth for a new generation of power plants.
Nellis households take to commingled recycling: Hauler president says ease, convenience key to test run’s success; Friday, April 25, 2008; Republic Services says the amount of waste from homes on Nellis Air Force Base that’s recycled rather than sent to the landfill has increased 21 percentage points since the trash hauling company revamped the pickup schedule there.
Buckwheat or big bucks: Unassuming desert shrub stands in the way of potential development in Las Vegas Valley; Tuesday, April 22, 2008; While homebuilders and city officials think land should be available for development, conservationists are asking whether it might be time to stop expanding and start protecting natural resources such as the buckwheat.
This fish story is true: Scientists will lab-raise minnows to test effects of treated wastewater; Monday, April 21, 2008; The fish in Las Vegas Bay look healthy on the outside, but it’s what’s inside that matters. For more than a decade scientists have found that some fish in the bay and in the Las Vegas Wash, where treated wastewater is released back into Lake Mead, have mutated reproductive systems and different hormone levels than fish in other parts of the lake.
Scientist wants Gibbons to nix support of coal: Climate researcher receiving prestigious award from institute; Wednesday, April 16, 2008; The Desert Research Institute will give the Nevada Medal — a national award for scientific achievement — to renowned climate scientist James Hansen, who will present new research on global climate change. Hansen, no stranger to controversy, sent a letter to Gov. Jim Gibbons this week calling on Gibbons to take meaningful action against climate change.
Water: The more you use, the more you’ll have to pay: Tuesday, April 8, 2008; The county’s largest water district is adopting “conservation pricing.” The concept is simple: If you want people to use less water, make it more expensive, especially for those who use the most.
What was waste will make power: At new plant, air heated to nearly 1,000 degrees by existing facility will be used to run turbine; Saturday, April 5, 2008; Air pouring out of smokestacks at a natural gas compressor station near Goodsprings is so hot its waves cast shifting shadows on the desert 60 feet below.
An energy promise kept: Utility to invest directly in geothermal plant, bucking the ‘you build it, we’ll use it’ trend; Thursday, March 27, 2008; The state’s largest utility is set to back its commitment to renewable energy with more spending, this time on geothermal power. Nevada Power Co. will invest in a 30-megawatt plant near Fallon that will use steam heated by the earth to turn an electricity-producing turbine, the company announced Wednesday.
Solar pioneer proudly a ‘green’ poster boy: Environmental group points to electrician, others as examples of clean energy’s promise; Wednesday, March 26, 2008; When Chris Brooks started his business in 2001, no other company in Las Vegas specialized in installing solar panels.
A beetle can save our water: But it would have to eat the thirsty tamarisk bush, home of the Southwest willow flycatcher, an endangered species; Sunday, March 23, 2008; Diorhabda elongata is a very picky eater — picky, but voracious. Commonly called the tamarisk leaf beetle after the invasive tree it loves to eat, the tiny insect is the secret weapon against what some biologists have called the worst ecological disaster in the history of the western United States. For the desert population of Southern Nevada, the tamarisk’s worst trait is its thirst. Up and down the Colorado River the tamarisk consumes as much as 325 billion gallons of water a year, according to estimates from the Bureau of Reclamation. That’s more water than the entire population of the Las Vegas Valley uses annually.
Desalination gets a serious look: It isn’t cheap and it requires lots of energy, but fresh water from the ocean might be part of Southern Nevada’s future as other sources dry up; Friday, March 21, 2008; As the West dries up, water managers, politicians and environmental groups alike are searching for an option — any option — to create water.
Convenient gas? Not at any price: Sandy Valley residents say safe water worth more than a local pump; Wednesday, March 19, 2008; Sandy Valley has one bar, three restaurants and five churches for its 2,000 people. What it doesn’t have is a gas station. The nearest pumps are almost 20 miles away in Jean, and some valley residents would like to keep it that way.
Lake’s ghost town seen as a warning: To some, emergence of town’s remains is sign that water poses eternal challenge to Vegas, all of Southwest; Wednesday, March 12, 2008; Water gave birth to the town, and then buried it. Now years of drought combined with the thirst of a burgeoning Las Vegas Valley have forced Lake Mead to give up all of St. Thomas’ silted remains, revealing a past that serves as a cautionary tale.
No small worry: Critics say tiny particles from coal plants, though within limits, pose threats; Friday, March 7, 2008; Opponents of the coal-fired power plants proposed for Nevada say one of the public’s biggest concerns should be the tiny particles that will come out of the plants’ smokestacks. The microscopic particles are produced during combustion by power plants, diesel engines and wood fires, and studies have found they can cause heart attacks, strokes and respiratory diseases. In 1997, the federal Environmental Protection Agency placed limits on the amount of these particles, many times smaller than the width of a human hair, allowed in the air. After five years of courtroom battles, the regulation was upheld in 2002.
With aid, more roofs could catch rays: Experts say industry needs to change its approach to alternative energy; Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008; While the Las Vegas Valley’s two large new solar power plants are celebrated as an ideal solution to the nation’s energy needs, the future of solar in Nevada also lies in tapping the sun on a smaller scale — provided the government and the energy industry cooperate.
Gibbons takes another whack at pipeline plan: Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008; During a nearly 45-minute speech to the Fallon Rotary Club on Tuesday, Gov. Jim Gibbons proposed using desalination as an alternative to building a water pipeline to eastern Nevada, according to the Lahontan Valley News.
Nevada doesn’t need coal-fired plants, ‘green’ report says: Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008; Nevada’s largest utility could meet the state’s growing energy demand without coal-fired power plants, according to a California environmental group.
Surprise! Greens praise a coal plant: Once-notorious Reid Gardner is polluting a lot less than it used to; Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008; Nevada Power has cut the amount of visible soot and smoke from its Reid Gardner stacks by half in each of the past two years, with more to come.
We all need power, but in Mesquite, priority is clean air: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008; Hundreds of people are expected to rally tonight at Mesquite City Hall in opposition to construction of a coal-fired power plant in nearby Lincoln County, in the latest showdown over Nevada’s energy future.
Coal-fired power developers argue that the increasing energy demands of growing Nevada and the rest of the Southwest make more of their plants necessary.
Reid: Renewables shorted by Bush budget: Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008; President Bush has again chosen to subsidize coal and nuclear power rather than renewable energy, environmental groups protested Tuesday following the release of his $25 billion federal Energy Department budget.
Bush’s last budget request as president includes $1.4 billion to promote new nuclear power plants, $9.1 billion to safeguard the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal and $1.1 billion to research technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired plants.
More help urged for ‘green’ energy: Environmentalists: Proposed routes for power lines favor coal; Monday, Jan. 28, 2008; Almost lost in the public debate over coal-fired power versus renewable energy is how to get both kinds of power from the plants where it’s produced to the cities where it’s used.
Top Dems all sign pledges on clean energy: Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008; Nevada will benefit from the election of one of the three leading Democratic candidates for president because of their commitment to renewable energy, environmentalists say.
Coal plant debate intensifies: In Ely, feelings about the environment and the economy overwhelm the agenda; Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008; More than 200 people turned out for a public meeting in Ely this month to alternately laud and condemn the construction of a coal-fired power plant, which was proposed by the state’s biggest utility company.
Expect it to rain less but when it does, watch out: Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008; Residents of the Southwest have heard the refrain that droughts caused by global warming will worsen the region’s already serious water shortage. It also will mean stronger, albeit less frequent, storms.
2008 turns promises ‘green’: More people resolve to do more to help Earth, surveys say; Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008; Breaking with tradition, Americans are vowing this year to reduce waste instead of their waistlines, according to a poll that shows nearly half of Americans have made a “green” New Year's resolution this year.
Nevada steps closer to solar economy: Saturday, Dec. 22, 2007; Nevada steps closer to solar economy
Utilities push to grow but know little about how to keep air clean: Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007; As debate over solutions to global warming rages here and in Congress, carbon jargon has started to fly.
PROGRESS (AT A PRICE): Friday, Dec. 7, 2007; As debate over construction of coal-fired power plants in Nevada rages on and new costs pile up, it remains unclear to regulators, environmentalists and even utility executives how expensive new coal power ultimately will be.
Yucca forum gets loud, rude, does little: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007; What's happening: A three-judge panel convenes in Vegas to determine whether the U.S. Energy Department has disclosed enough documents about the Yucca Mountain project to the public.
Q+A: Nevada Conservation League Executive Director Scot Rutledge: Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007; The grades are in and Gov. Jim Gibbons is not exactly at the top of his class, but he has skated by with a C- on conservation and environmentalism for his first year in the Statehouse.
Saving wilderness never a done deal: Friday, Nov. 23, 2007; Lovers of Nevada's great outdoors this month celebrated the fifth anniversary of passage of a bill that protected almost half a million acres of public wilderness in Clark County.
Nevada a 'rising star' in renewable energy: Thursday, Nov. 22, 2007; Nevada got some credit for progressive energy policy from environmental groups that urged Congress to follow the example of this state and 20 others in enacting laws and policies that protect people and the planet.
SALES PITCH: A GUILT-FREE SUV: Thursday, Nov. 22, 2007; Picture the new wave in conservation: a tree-hugging, socks-and-Birkenstocks, environmentally friendly ... SUV?
Lack of emissions rules didn't stop Kansas from acting: Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007; Environmentalists call it a watershed moment.
CO2 rules still in the air: Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007; Conspicuously absent from a draft air permit Nevada's Environmental Protection Division approved this week were two words: carbon dioxide.
Groups say save water, don't draw more: Friday, Nov. 2, 2007; The latest attempt to persuade the Southern Nevada Water Authority to abandon its multibillion-dollar plan to pump ground water from rural Nevada to Las Vegas came in a report released Thursday. Once again, water conservation by Las Vegans is being touted as a viable alternative.
A PROBLEMATIC THIRST: Friday, Oct. 26, 2007; A PROBLEMATIC THIRST