Phoebe Sweet

Story Archive

Three years later, challenge renewed: As some see progress on renewables, Clinton gives pep talk; Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Three years ago, Bill Clinton issued his first challenge to Nevada business leaders to make the state a mecca for renewable energy companies, and they can point to some evidence they took him seriously.
Rising costs cheer coal plant foes: Economics, not pollution concerns, hamper Ely project, but that’s fine with environmentalists; Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Nevada’s environmental commission gathered in the fall in Carson City to consider a request from environmental groups to stop granting permits for new coal-fired power plants.
Reid summit in green spotlight: As clean energy forum nears, questions about its value, implications swirl; Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008; The biggest name on the program for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s first energy summit, last summer, was Harry Reid. And even he slipped out of the Reno Peppermill after delivering the morning’s keynote address.
Stopping for a cold one won’t be quite the same: Bar made of ice will serve drinks in ice glasses. Bundle up!; Friday, Aug. 15, 2008; Get ready, Las Vegas. Expect more scolding.
Out of your comfort zone: If you’re willing to let Nevada Power turn up your thermostat by remote control, the utility will pay you for your discomfort; Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008; On the hottest days in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada Power turns down the air conditioning in 36,000 homes and businesses for hours at a time — and the utility wants to control many more.
Renowned scientist takes governor to task: Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008; For the second time this year, renowned climate scientist James Hansen has asked Gov. Jim Gibbons to do something meaningful to stop climate change.
Prove it won't pump Snake Valley dry: Friday, Aug. 1, 2008; Since the big hearings on Southern Nevada’s plan to take water from eastern Nevada’s Great Basin aquifer began, water officials have been able to avoid presenting scientific predictions about how pumping will affect the lifeblood of that region’s ranchers, plants and animals.
Public opinion an afterthought: Environmentalists say climate change report pays only ‘lip service’ to input; Friday, Aug. 1, 2008; When they concluded that Gov. Jim Gibbons’ climate change committee really was not intent on clamping down on greenhouse gases, environmentalists turned their hopes to the eleventh-hour public input period.
Feds catching up with us on saving water — ﬁnally: National standards for homes would jibe with those of Southern Nevada authority’s 5-year-old program; Friday, July 25, 2008; Five years ago, the Southern Nevada Water Authority quit pushing the federal government to create standards for water-efficient homes — and came up with its own instead.
UNLV gets solar energy research grant: Wednesday, July 23, 2008; UNLV has won a $738,000 federal grant to fund solar research, Sen. Harry Reid announced Wednesday.
Study: Climate change effects on water supply potentially devastating: Wednesday, July 23, 2008; Climate change will create devastating drought in Nevada and throughout the Southwest and continue to lower the levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, threatening the water supply for 2 million Nevadans.
No dirt to dig up here: Soil from Nevada in D.C. debut: Orovada, the state’s official earthen resource, in Smithsonian exhibit; Wednesday, July 23, 2008; Orovada doesn’t have a lot going on. It doesn’t even have a stoplight.
Sierra Club hosting 10 green parties in Nevada: Wednesday, July 16, 2008; As part of Sierra Club's national Light Bulbs to Leadership campaign, the environmental group will host more than 200 house parties throughout the nation Thursday.
Snake Valley water hearings won't happen until late next year: Tuesday, July 15, 2008; Opponents of Southern Nevada Water Authority’s plans to pump water from Snake Valley in Eastern Nevada to fast-growing Las Vegas will have more than a year to build a case against the pipeline.
Water hearings delayed a year: Tuesday, July 15, 2008; Hearings over whether the Southern Nevada Water Authority will be allowed to pump water from Snake Valley, on the Utah border, will not be held until fall of 2009.
Forces set to resist bid for rural water: Snake Valley — and its ranches, tribes and park — has chance of defeating Water Authority request; Tuesday, July 15, 2008; Final arrangements are to be considered today for the biggest showdown to date over rural Nevada’s water — hearings to determine whether the Southern Nevada Water Authority can take water from Snake Valley.
Was Reid’s slur on coal an impolitic truth?: Senator’s sound bite has right wing buzzing, others shrugging; Thursday, July 10, 2008; Sen. Harry Reid has a knack for blurting out the one thing nagging in the back of some people’s minds — the thing few people of his stature dare to say, for fear of looking off kilter. Last week the majority leader did it again when he told Fox Business News that “coal makes us sick.”
Lakefront homes, while lake lasts: Despite glowing ads, Walker Lake may be dying, its fish vanishing; Tuesday, July 8, 2008; “Lakefront land sale,” screamed the advertisement, “one weekend only.”
The pitch promised migrating loons and renowned Lahontan cutthroat trout fishing on Walker Lake, five hours from Las Vegas near Hawthorne.
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.
BLM lifts solar moratorium 21 months early: Wednesday, July 2, 2008; The Bureau of Land Management announced today that it will end a one-month-old moratorium on new solar applications on land it stewards in six southwest states, including Nevada.
National clean energy summit coming to UNLV: Tuesday, July 1, 2008; Sen. Harry Reid today announced a National Clean Energy Summit to be held at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Aug. 19.
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.
New mining claims banned in region around Grand Canyon National Park: Wednesday, June 25, 2008; A House committee today invoked rarely-used powers to ban new mining claims on about a million acres adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park.
Green jobs town hall meeting Tuesday: Monday, June 23, 2008; A so-called "green" economy could create more than 19,000 manufacturing jobs in the Las Vegas Valley, according to business leaders, a steelworkers and environmental groups that are hosting a town hall meeting here Tuesday.
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.
Builders pay up for alleged water violations: Wednesday, June 11, 2008; Four of the nation's largest residential builders have agreed to pay $4.3 million - including $182,000 to the state of Nevada - in a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protect Agency for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.
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.
Poll indicates support for protection of Gold Butte: Thursday, June 5, 2008; Two-thirds of Clark County voters support protecting additional public lands in Nevada, according to a recent poll by Public Opinion Strategies.
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.
Nevada to be part of solar study: Friday, May 30, 2008; The Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday that it will study the environmental impacts of solar energy development in six Western states, including Nevada.
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.
Las Vegas' carbon footprint surprisingly small: Thursday, May 29, 2008; A report released today by the Brookings Institution ranked the country's 100 largest metro areas by their carbon emissions.
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.
Higher water bills postponed: Thursday, April 3, 2008; Las Vegans who were to see a 23 percent increase on their April water bill can rest easy - at least for another month.
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.
Federal regulators eyeing Nevada Power investor: Tuesday, March 25, 2008; Turns out environmentalists aren’t the only ones interested in the money behind Sierra Pacific Resources, the company that owns Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co.