Kudos to NV Energy for helping our health

By Brian Greenspun (contact)

Sunday, April 7, 2013 | 2 a.m.

If you have your health, you have everything.

I can’t recall how long I’ve heard that from others, but I know how long I’ve been sharing that sentiment with young people — and that’s ever since I reached an age when things start to go wrong and people start to show signs of wear and tear.

I suppose it’s the recognition of that part of the human condition that leads to the separation of the generations when it comes to matters of governmental policy and our health.

Simply put, the older we get, the more conscious we are of our health and the more appreciative we are of the technologies and medical advances that provide us a shot at quality longevity.

I mention this because I have reached that age where these issues begin to matter at a personal level. But, in larger part, I have reached an age of understanding that allows me to appreciate what is most important in life: the health and happiness of our loved ones.

My father, Las Vegas Sun founder Hank Greenspun, was way ahead of his time when it came to matters of health — actually he was way ahead of his time on most things. I can’t remember one theory he advanced regarding what we should eat or why we should eat it or how and when we should exercise that was not proven years later to be spot on.

I was thinking what my dad would say about the news that NV Energy was going to close all of its coal-fired power plants in Nevada over the next decade or so and replace them with a mix of natural gas-fired plants and renewable energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal.

The announcement was met by a criticism that centered around the cost to ratepayers of converting, changing and building plants.

My father was never a champion of the folks who owned the power, gas or water companies, but he accepted the fact that they had to exist for an orderly society to grow and prosper and for a citizenry to be assured access to the basic necessities of life.

Proper government oversight of these near-monopolies was also a necessity for him, although he always worried about the cozy relationship between the regulators and the regulated. He considered it part of his job to ensure the ratepayers always got a fair shake.

With NV Energy’s announcement came the inevitable stories about how much more it would cost consumers to have an energy company powered by tomorrow’s cleaner and more environmentally conscious power sources rather than by yesterday’s air-polluting, lung-poisoning and life-shortening coal plants.

And that is where I know my father would speak up: By coming down on those who could only see the money side of the argument, an argument that was a loser from the get-go because the real financial cost to society would come from doing nothing — or far less than what NV Energy has committed to do.

I am invoking Hank’s environmental position because I know it was consistent and unassailable. He championed the little guy, the average citizen, against the well-heeled and politically influential power companies that seemed to forever force their will on a government constantly overwhelmed and understaffed.

But even he, given NV Energy’s decision, would praise them for the good they plan to do. For sure, the energy providers could do more to advance the cause of clean air and fighting climate change. But what they have announced is considerable and consistent with a company that sees its future and Nevada’s as inextricably entwined by energy policies that enhance healthy living and advance the cause of environmental sanity.

I also will invoke the words of John J. Arbuckle, who, at least in older TV commercials, would contend that “you get what you pay for.” By that he meant if you want the best, you have to be willing to pay for it.

In this case, if we want a future that is less dependent on untold quantities of air- and lung-polluting coal, and more dependent on cleaner-burning gas and environmentally friendly solar and wind sources, then we have to be willing to pay for it.

Any actuary worth his salt can prove that whatever we spend today that keeps us healthier will save us financially tomorrow in terms of doctor visits, hospital stays and the pain and suffering that we bring down on ourselves if we insist that cheaper must mean better.

I, for one, channeling the words of the Sun’s founding publisher, want to thank NV Energy for acting in its own best interest. You heard me — this is good business for the energy company, but it is also good business for the people of Nevada.

The few extra dollars a year that this may cost us as ratepayers will be drops in the bucket when you consider how much healthier our state and its people will be.

And who knows, this kind of move could vault us to the top of the list of the 50 states when it comes to environmental friendliness. Maybe for once we will know what it is like to lead in something good rather than follow in all that is bad.

Remember, there will come a time when everyone understands that when you have your health, you will have everything. Cleaning up Nevada’s air will advance the cause of good health.

Then we will have everything.

Brian Greenspun is publisher and editor of the Las Vegas Sun.