Category Archives: Nevada

Food & Drink, Nevada, Politics, Science & Health, Web & Technology

The West is historically dry. Desalination could help. | Popular Science

A historic drought calls for new ideas.

By Thor Benson, Published Apr 3, 2022 5:00 PM

As climate change continues to plague the planet, droughts are likely to become worse in the future. Unsplash

California and the rest of the American West are facing the worst drought in over 1,200 years.

This drought is devastating the agricultural industry and creating conditions that lead to massive wildfires. According to the IPCC, climate change makes it likely that droughts will only continue to get worse.

To maintain an adequate supply of fresh water, the region needs to develop technological solutions to dwindling water levels.

Fortunately, a decent chunk of California is on the coast, meaning one solution to the drought is utilizing desalination technologies to turn seawater into fresh water. However, large desalination plants take years to become operational and are expensive to operate (nearly $3,000 per acre-foot of seawater).

Additionally, many places experiencing drought in the West, such as Arizona and New Mexico, are not on the coast. But desalination isn’t just an option for freshening up seawater, says Brent Haddad, a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“[Desalination] can improve not just brackish groundwater but also agricultural groundwater that’s been harmed by chemicals and even some industrial wastes,” Haddad says.

Source: The West is historically dry. Desalination could help. | Popular Science

Food & Drink, Las Vegas, Nevada, Pleasures

Las Vegas Buffets Are Back and Better Than Ever | Food & Wine

The reopening of The Buffet at Bellagio is a bellwether of better times ahead for Sin City.

By Lissa Townsend Rodgers, July 27, 2021

Credit: Courtesy of MGM Resorts International

Many cities are identified with an iconic food.

Philadelphia has its cheesesteaks, New York has pizza, New Orleans has po-boys, Baltimore has crab cakes.

Las Vegas has all of them, because Vegas means a buffet. “I think it’s about having a sense of indulgence and having everything. All of the choices are there for you but you don’t really have to make a decision,” says Wes Holton, executive chef at Bellagio Las Vegas, “I think that kind of sums up Vegas and what people expect when they come to Vegas.”

Source: Las Vegas Buffets Are Back and Better Than Ever | Food & Wine

Las Vegas, Nevada, Science & Health, Web & Technology

How Vegas Is Embracing Sustainability—for Real | AFAR

Huge solar arrays, electric transportation, and recycled masks are all playing a part.

By Matt Villano, Jul 12, 2021

Photo by Zhukova Valentyna / Shutterstock
All those lights need a lot of power.

Las Vegas—arguably America’s capital of consumption—is gradually getting more sustainable. The latest milestone: A 100-megawatt solar array that can deliver up to 90 percent of daytime power to 13 Las Vegas resort properties, including Bellagio and Park MGM.

The “Mega Solar Array” was unveiled earlier this month and is sending all its power to casino operator MGM Resorts, which has exclusive rights to its energy for the next 20 years. It’s a really big deal, both literally and figuratively.

As of this writing, it’s the largest solar array anywhere in the world.

Source: How Vegas Is Embracing Sustainability—for Real

Las Vegas, Nevada, Times They Are A-Changing

Baby Boomer Migration Tilts Toward Las Vegas, Tampa And Phoenix

Editors’ Pick | Apr 28, 2021,03:23pm EDT | 517 views

Brenda Richardson, Senior Contributor, Real Estate, I cover residential real estate, including buying, selling and trends.

Sunny retirement locations are still a big draw for Baby Boomers.
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Baby Boomers are the wealthiest generation of Americans alive today, and while some may no longer be active in the housing market, plenty are still looking to buy homes.

But where are Baby Boomers looking to buy? To answer this question, LendingTree analyzed mortgage purchase requests made in 2020 on the LendingTree platform across the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas.

Here’s what the study found:

Las Vegas, Tampa and Phoenix are the metros where Baby Boomers make up the largest share of mortgage purchase requests. In Las Vegas, 19.97% of purchase requests came from Baby Boomers. In Tampa and Phoenix, the numbers are 17.33% and 16.36%, respectively.

–from article
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