Here is some info about how multi-national oil companies team up with corrupt dictators to exploit the local people for profits. The people of the Niger delta used to live off the land and they were self sustaining in population with their environment and they knew how to fish, raise animals and grow crops - until the pollution from oil production ruined their rivers, land and air. They protested in non-violent fashion and were met with violence. So that did not work and now they resort to violence.

It is an interesting cycle: Happy people are told some lies about the "good life". So they go along only too late to realize the consequences. Then they can't fish, grow or farm due to the oil spills and gas flares. So the oil that is exported to the USA is converted into food and sent back to them. Everybody in the USA pats themselves on the back for being humanitarians. Now there are a bunch of people with nothing to do and they are getting enough food - so they are bored and make more babies. They lose a lot of their agricultural roots and become prisoners of the "Oil State". The cycle repeats and now there is major conflict due to oil and rampant population growth. By the way this also keeps our oil prices down - other people are cheap and expendable. I'm just as guilty - I want cheap gas and everything that goes along with it!!

http://www.globalissues.org/article/86/n...

"The Niger Delta in Nigeria has been the attention of environmentalists, human rights activists and fair trade advocates around the world. The trial and hanging of environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Ogoni ethnic minority made world-wide attention. So too did the non-violent protests of the Ogoni people. The activities of large oil corporations such as Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Elf, Agip etc have raised many concerns and criticisms."

Great article! Keep the power to control population at the lowest level - the individual man and woman. Do not impose some "religious morality" on the people! Educate everyone about how we need and impact the earth. People are already fleeing areas in the world where they cannot sustain themselves and they are migrating to the western world. It is already happening the growth rate is dropping every year and approaching zero across the world due to "natural selection" mostly (ie. war, disease, famine and pestilence). Do we want that for the USA, for Nevada, for Las Vegas?

I appreciate everyone's comments. Not only does the illegal pay into SS (never to receive) but the employer matches that 6% too. So the gov. has a cash cow - and neither party wants to kill the cash cow. I predict a huge illegal immigration problem in the coming decades from Mexico due to their depleting oil industry. Once they are no longer exporting oil then the people will really start to suffer. Here is a tag from a story in 2007.
www.theoildrum.com/node/2226

Don't worry the world's or N. America or US population will achieve zero growth. So we will solve our own problem! The question is how will we do it. Will it be with rational and logical decisions by individuals or will we leave it to chance. For the most part it looks like we'll be leaving it to chance. So how will death rates increase to match birth rates (that is zero growth)? War (plenty of ex.), disease (H1N1, AIDS other), pestilence (unsanitary water- Africa and Asia) and famine (poor countries). 4 horseman of the apocalypse - that's all we humans understand. This is mainly affecting the 3rd world but its creeping into the 2nd and 1st worlds as well.

We need to start with our own country - stop immigration (legal and illegal)and just educate. Immigration is only going to increase as those people try to escape the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse. When women get education and are in the workforce with access to birth control then the birth rates decline. But when we have a huge immigrant pop. that has uneducated women then birth rates increase. Organized religion is a part of the problem - I wonder if they can have/get/make a revelation to just replenish ourselves instead of go forth and multiply?

These guys talked about a new market that will take business away from LV. They've already done it with Macau, Indian gaming and River boats not to mention other areas (Europe, Singapore etc). The gaming companies have diversified THEIR business by bringing it closer to the markets. And they did that due to the cheap taxes on their enormous profits here in LV.
Oh wait... Las Vegas will always be LAS VEGAS. That line will go right up there with Las Vegas is recession proof. The execs keep spinning that line so we'll believe it why they keep all the money and we'll never diversify Nevada or LV economy. No matter what stupid commercials that the NDA comes up with.

Same thing for Mining too.

Who read the story this past week about the MEGATON nuclear below ground explosions and the nuclear waste (tritium) migrating towards domestic water wells!!?? All of those explosions and waste are there now! they will move with time but having waste that is monitored and watched is a problem. Nevada is a a bunch of Cold War wimps. How do you think all that nuclear material got there to be used in the first place!!? Right up the highway!! or flown over our heads. There is more radioactivity in your watches and devices and in your house!! than what you'll be exposed to with nuclear waste going to Yucca. In case you wonder google earth the area - It looks like the moon above Yucca Flat!!

Actually US consumption of all petroleum liquids has dropped to about 18.5 million barrels per day. Here is the US EIA web link below. You can see the smaller and smaller growth curves as oil production gets harder and more expensive to get. All the more reason to open up our federal lands for alternative energy sources as well as conservation.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/M...

Actually they mentioned travel issues and one of them actually said "uncertainty in fuel prices". But I agree with your premise that high fuel/energy prices are the driver. I would say that there is no uncertainty - they will go higher! Therefore, LV and NV will continue to have problems for the foreseeable future. LV has experienced high growth due to low fuel/energy prices which translates into low food prices. World wide Oil supply has been stagnant for the past 3 years and will remain that way and eventually drop!