LETTER: Lands bill would exacerbate sprawl in Las Vegas area
I was shocked to read, “Lands bill would trade conservation for development” in Friday’s Review-Journal. Specifically, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto asserting the Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act would “combat climate change” and “prevent sprawl.” How can selling off 42,000 acres of our federal public lands for development do either?
Increasing Las Vegas’ footprint by more than 65 square miles is the definition of sprawl. The associated development, vehicles and emissions they would bring will add more carbon to the air, making climate change worse. The so-called “affordable housing” is also to be located in areas with little or no infrastructure or in high-dollar development areas.
Our recent record heat waves in Las Vegas are a taste of what’s to come if we do not stop emitting carbon dioxide. Sen. Cortez Masto and other politicians are dooming our region to a worst-case heat and pollution scenario if they keep pursuing development without regard to impact, such as what’s being proposed in this bill. Isn’t this “desert denial”?
