Environment of Nevada facts for kids
The environment of Nevada includes many different kinds of plants and animals, weather patterns, and land types. Rules and efforts to protect the environment have tried to deal with dangers to nature.
Powering Nevada with Clean Energy
In 1997, Nevada started a program called the Renewable Portfolio Standard. This program made electric companies use more clean, renewable energy. At first, they had to get 1 percent of their power from renewable sources.
Then, in 2001, Nevada made this goal much bigger. Governor Kenny Guinn signed a law that said 15 percent of all electricity in Nevada must come from new renewable sources by the year 2013. This law also said that at least 5 percent of this renewable energy had to come from solar power.
In 2005, the state changed the law again. They pushed the deadline back a bit but raised the goal even higher. Now, 20 percent of Nevada's electricity sales needed to come from renewable sources by 2015. For a long time, most of Nevada's electricity came from burning coal. But in 2005, natural gas became the main source of power, and it has been ever since.
Exploring Nevada's State Parks
Nevada has many amazing state parks. These parks help protect special natural places and give people fun outdoor activities to do. They are great places to learn about nature and history.
- Further information: List of Nevada state parks
Yucca Mountain: A Storage Site for Nuclear Waste
Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository is a proposed place to store used nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste. This site is managed by the United States Department of Energy.
The storage facility is located in a desert area on government land. It is next to the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada, about 80 miles from the big city of Las Vegas. The site is inside a long hill called Yucca Mountain. This hill is made of rock from an old volcano that isn't active anymore.
