Energy and Environment

When farmers first purchase water rights, they typically reserve them for a certain time of the year based on historical predictions of when the most water will flow, but the runoff is frequently coming earlier because of climate change. 

1 Million Cups is seeking to strengthen Nevada's startup community by giving entrepreneurs a chance to share their ideas. Our contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business View Reports.

2017 was the hottest year on record for most of Northern Nevada. And while the warmer weather has created complications across the region, nowhere may be as impacted as Lake Tahoe. The delicate ecosystem of the continent’s largest alpine lake has been under assault for decades from invasive species, algae growth and decreasing clarity. But area leaders are now concerned that wildfires may pose an even greater threat to the lake.

When you think of the sources behind carbon dioxide emissions, you might think of cars and factories. But in the rural mountains of the Eastern Sierra, University of Nevada, Reno researchers are finding that much of the CO2 emissions come from an unlikely place: dried up meadows. KUNR's Bree Zender reports. 

Environmental damage caused by an engineering company has delayed a multimillion-dollar project in the Emerald Bay area. It has also prompted an investigation by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, or TRPA. Our contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business View has the details.

The infamous Fly Geyser, situated on private land north of Gerlach, has been closed to the public for nearly two decades. But now, the land's new owners – the Burning Man Project – are opening the geyser for public viewing. Reno Public Radio's Bree Zender took a trip southwest of the Black Rock Desert, to find out more about it. 

Whether it's hoary cress, with its tiny white flowers and hairy leaves, or Scotch thistle, a plant with spiny wings that can grow up to 12 feet tall, Nevada has a problem with noxious weeds. But some ranchers may have found a way to effectively deal with the invasive species: goats. Our reporter Paul Boger went out into the field to learn more.

In December, snowpack in the Sierra was below normal levels, warning some water experts of a drought. Since then, a few storms have passed. Reno Public Radio's Bree Zender checks in again with Jeff Anderson, a hydrologist from the Natural Resources Conservation Service about where the snowpack levels are today, and how that could affect water flow.