Is Green Las Vegas Gone Forever?

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https://eos.org/features/is-green-las-vegas-gone-forever

Source: By Mary Caperton Morton, Eos/AGU. 

Excerpt: ...Will desertification overtake Nevada’s half-million-year history of wetlands? Long before the neon lights and artificial fountains of the Las Vegas Strip, people were attracted to the Las Vegas Valley by its artesian springs. Las Vegas means “the meadows,” after all, and for thousands of years, this valley tucked between arid mountain ranges was a startlingly green oasis in the midst of the Mojave Desert. In 1962, after decades of groundwater pumping, the Las Vegas Springs ran dry, and today 90% of the water that flows through the valley’s faucets comes from the Colorado River by way of Lake Mead. In the grip of an already decadelong drought and with the climate projected to get even hotter and drier, the valley’s growing population of 2.7 million residents and 42 million annual visitors is expected to get even thirstier, making a return of the Las Vegas meadows highly unlikely.... 

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