Environment

Pythons apparently wiping out Everglades mammals: Monday, January 30, 2012; Associated Press; A burgeoning population of huge pythons — many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big — appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.

Henderson to decide whether to expand recycling program: Wednesday, January 18, 2012; By Aida Ahmed; A new survey shows 92 percent of those in Henderson’s pilot recycling program are happy with weekly recycling pickup, while 84 percent are OK with weekly garbage pickup.

Geologist: Snow runoff could be cause of quakes at Lake Mead: Thursday, January 5, 2012; By Michael Squires; All that Colorado snow runoff that poured into Lake Mead last spring and summer may have done more than raise the water level. It may have triggered the earth to quake beneath the lake. Lee Allison, Arizona state geologist and director of the state’s geological survey, said he began to notice the small quakes — ranging in magnitude from 1.5 to 2.2 — in late April.

Sloan Channel issue 'bugs' nearby homeowners: Thursday, December 29, 2011; Environment:; By Joe Schoenmann; Water released into the Sloan Channel from the new wastewater treatment plant in North Las Vegas is making life a little more difficult for those who live near the concrete-lined channel. Fungus gnats and chronomid midges, both of which live near rotting vegetation and damp areas, are growing in numbers along the channel, where they had never been seen before.

Yucca, as merely a dump, is not viable: Friday, December 9, 2011; Letter to the editor:; Rep. Joe Heck, Henderson; Brian Greenspun’s column regarding Yucca Mountain inaccurately illustrates my position on the subject.

Killing Yucca Mountain would be a real gift: Sunday, December 4, 2011; WHERE I STAND:; By Brian Greenspun; This is the time we think about ending one more chapter while we prepare to start another.

State accuses feds of reneging on nuke promises: Saturday, December 3, 2011; By Cy Ryan; CARSON CITY – The state is accusing the federal Department of Energy of reneging on its pledge not to ship low level and dangerous nuclear waste through the Las Vegas Valley.

Group delivers petition with 21,000 comments against water pipeline: Tuesday, November 29, 2011; By Cy Ryan; A group says it has filed a petition with comments from 21,000 people opposed to the application of the Southern Nevada Water Authority to pump millions of gallons of water annually from rural counties to Las Vegas.

MGM Resorts honored for food recycling: Wednesday, November 16, 2011; By Delen Goldberg; MGM Resorts International was recently honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for being a leader in food waste recycling.

Monstrous nuclear waste dump just won’t die: Sunday, November 13, 2011; WHERE I STAND:; By Brian Greenspun; Yucca Mountain and the politically undead.

Study finds Nevada's indigenous plants, animals under pressure: Tuesday, November 8, 2011; By Cy Ryan; About 15 percent of the plants and animals unique to Nevada are at risk due to climate and the growing population. More than 3,800 species of plants and animals live in Nevada and 173 of these are not found anywhere else in the world.

Sen. Harry Reid asks BLM to scuttle planned Sloan Hills mining project: Tuesday, November 1, 2011; By Karoun Demirjian; Sen. Harry Reid is upping the pressure on the Bureau of Land Management to abandon its plans for Sloan Hills, a gravel pit developers have been eyeing for its stone deposits but area residents have been decrying as an environmental eyesore.

Single-stream recycling more popular than sorting, Republic Services says: Thursday, October 27, 2011; By Joe Schoenmann; Just 3 percent of Republic Services’ customers recycle their plastics, cans and paper, according to the trash hauler. But some Southern Nevadans — about 84,000 Republic customers — recycle at 10 times that rate. The difference? Whether they have to sort their recyclables.

MGM Resorts makes list of America's most environmentally responsible companies: Thursday, October 20, 2011; Environment:; By VEGAS INC staff; For the second year in a row, MGM Resorts International has been named one of Newsweek Magazine’s 500 most environmentally-responsible U.S. companies.

The beautiful, bleak world of the Flamingo Arroyo Trail: Monday, October 17, 2011; By Kristen Peterson; We’re walking the Valley’s river, a combination sewer system and wildlife habitat that carries 150 million gallons of storm water and urban runoff through the wetlands and into Lake Mead every day.