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- Desert News, 7/15/24
Desert News, 7/15/24
Where is Death Valley? How a California desert kills
A basic primer on Death Valley and desert safety for those wit no arid land experience.
‘We knew it was going to be hot’: Tourists embrace the heat in Death Valley
Two daily records have been broken in recent weeks. The questionable all-time record — 134°F in 1913 — may fall as well this summer. And people are heading to the Valley to see what that feels like. Park Rangers’ task becomes making sure they all get back home safely.
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Washington County leads Utah in replacing ‘lazy lawns’ with water-friendly landscaping
St. George ad the towns around it have a bad reputation as being some of the water-wastingest people in the desert southwest. That’s not without reason. But this southwest corner of Utah is starting to see more enthusiasm for saving water. an estimated 1.6 million square feet of turf has been replaced in Washington County since the program started. Nearly 663,000 square feet of decorative lawn grass have been replaced since the start of the year. That adds to about a million square feet replaced in 2023.
To save vulnerable wildlife species in California’s desert, we need to protect and connect their habitats
Deehan, Environment California’s State Director, Environment California Research & Policy Center, offers a commentary in support of establishing Chuckwalla National Mounument south and east of Joshua Tree National Park.
El Paso's Sun Metro receives $30M through USDOT grant for low emission buses
The compressed natural-gas-fueled buses were paid for through the Biden administration’s Infrastructure legislation. Local transit agency Sun Metro’s fleet is now 100% natural gas, with not a diesel or gasoline-powered engine to be seen.
Imperial Valley’s Unhoused At Risk From Heat
Since 2005, the nonprofit Brown Bag Coalition has ventured out on extremely hot days to distribute lifesaving drinks and protective gear to unhoused people in El Centro and Calexico. They’re having to do that a lot more often these days, but donations aren’t keeping up with the pace of work needed.
Moab faces ‘massive undertaking’ as it stares down myriad flood issues
A pair of June monsoon floods didn’t do much structural damage to buildings in Moab, but the sheer scale of the damage means the city has some deep thinking to do on how — and whether — to repair streets, sidewalks, and bridges.
Dust moves into Las Vegas valley due to storms in Arizona
What happens in Kingman slays in Vegas. Bring a mask to the Strip if you hve lung problems!
See the Great Basin’s rapid groundwater loss from the sky
Since 2002, total water storage in the Great Basin— including surface water, soil moisture and groundwater — has been reduced by the equivalent of the current volume of Lake Mead, multiplied by six.