The air we breathe, the water we drink, the open spaces we enjoy and the wildlife we want to protect all contribute to the quality of life in Las Vegas. Let's work together to enhance these things rather than talk about how to undermine them.
Some have suggested that the environment take another hit through relaxation of environmental protections. Although we understand and appreciate the need for flexibility and increased local controls in many areas, we do not believe that enforcement of environmental protections is the place to be flexible. Our goal as a nation should be to help communities pursue development that doesn't come at the expense of our need for clean air, clean water, open spaces, wildlife habitat and public health and safety.
Our message to you is quite simple. Increased local control and innovation is a wonderful thing, but not if it interferes with the full enforcement of environmental protections.
Urban Sprawl
Las Vegas is the fastest growing city in the U.S. We gain a new resident every 9 minutes and our land use size grew 238% between 1990 and 1996. The citizens of Las Vegas are concerned about the explosive growth that we have experienced and its consequences to the quality of our environment and our daily lives.
In Las Vegas, the Sierra Club is working to educate the public about steps they can take to combat sprawl. We are working to bring together the various stakeholders to develop a picture of what we can specifically do to respond to the clear public demand to curb sprawl, protect wild places and promote smart growth, instead of growth at all costs. The Sierra Club supports "Smart Growth" solutions that can save taxpayer dollars, prevent pollution, and protect wild places. Now more than ever we need creative, long-term solutions to the consequences of urban sprawl.
Clean Air and Transportation
The larger a community gets, the farther people are likely to have to travel to work. The most common way to travel in Las Vegas is by car. The sheer number of cars on the road in Las Vegas causes traffic congestion and in turn, increased air pollution. Currently the answer has been "build more roads". This is a trend that we do not support. Las Vegas is a city that boasts about being a city of the future, but our attitude toward transportation is rooted firmly in the automobile dependent past. It is time for Las Vegas to truly become a city of the future. It is absolutely critical for government to promote environmentally friendly transportation alternatives instead of relying on new highway construction to relieve traffic congestion. For instance, we are supporting the "no-build" alternative in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the widening of U.S. Highway 95. In addition, we do not support any of the three proposed bridges near Hoover Dam as a valid alternative Colorado River crossing. We need to solve the transportation problems -- not proliferate them with more roads and more cars.
Las Vegas is currently out of compliance with national air quality standards for particulate matter (PM10) and carbon monoxide. On "bad air" days, warning are issued over television and radio telling is it is not safe for our children to go outside for gym class! It is our belief that without the threat of the Environmental Protection Agency watching over their shoulder, little would be done to improve the air quality in Las Vegas. The protection of clean air is not just a visibility or appearance issue, it is a serious health concern and there is a lot of work to do before we can call the air in Las Vegas clean and healthy.
Clean Water
The Clean Water Act should be aggressively enforced by all agencies with water management responsibilities and should not be weakened. Point-source pollution should be eliminated, best management practices for air and water-borne pollutants should be developed, and adequate funding should be provided to implement control of non-point sources.
The news has been full of stories about how the Sunrise Landfill near the Las Vegas Wash has been leaking pollutants into the air and water. Less than a year ago, severe storms and flooding left a 4.5 mile trail of garbage from the landfill through the Las Vegas Wash. The Wash flows directly into Lake Mead, upstream from the intake valve for the Las Vegas water system.
The Las Vegas Wash itself is a major concern for Las Vegans. In 1972, the Wash supported about 2,000 acres of wetlands. Development has enroached on the Wash to the point that there are only a few hundred acres left. Those acres are still in danger from developers who take advantage of the "growth at all costs" mentality. The Wash is also in danger from polluted run-off. There is more run-off than ever and fewer acres of Wash to dilute and clean the ground water before it enters Lake Mead and the Colorado River. We have lost vast stretches of marshlands and the plants and animals who lived there.
Land Use
Nevada has one of the highest percentages of public lands in the country, yet Las Vegas is far below the national average when it comes to parks, open spaces, trails, and green and brown spaces. It is more important than ever that we make the creation and protection of open spaces a priority. Some parts of the valley are doing a better job than others because it has been given priority in their planning efforts. We must remember that public lands need to be managed to benefit the public, not a handful of developers.
What Can Government Do?
In some things, government should do less. stop building highways that encourage urban sprawl stop subsidizing wetlands destruction stop giving grants and tax incentives that encourage developers to fragment wild areas and habitat stop the practice of rubber stamping wetlands destruction when developers want to build in these precious areas
But there are some things the government should do more of. recognize that the public says that the environment is a major concern to them and their families states should require real comprehensive, regional planning the Federal government should put real funding into transportation choices and support taxpayer incentives for public transit use support conservation easements that allow landowners to donate the development rights for their land to conservation organizations, and receive income, property, and estate tax relief fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund make it easier to get a wetlands classified as a protected wetlands provide sufficient funding for wildlife conservation and protection as well as programs for urban parks and recreation, historic preservation, and farm and rangeland conservation
Some communities are way ahead of the Federal Government in dealing with urban sprawl. Las Vegas is not one of them. Elected and appointed officials should encourage communities to come up with local, innovative solutions to the problems of urban sprawl, but not at the expense of full enforcement of environmental protections that guard our families health, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the quality of life so important to all of us.