In the Rockies today, water and air pollution are in the news.
In Nevada, where the hunt for more water to slake the thirst of a growing population seems perpetually in the news, the federal government's nuclear testing program has befouled an estimated 1.6 trillion gallons of groundwater.
The state would like the federal government to do a fresh environmental analysis of the 1,375-square-mile Nevada Test site, and would like the Energy Department to do more than monitor the movement of radioactive groundwater.
Emboldened by their success in fending off the national nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada officials are stepping up their efforts to get their groundwater cleaned up.
A new report issued by Environment Arizona said Arizona led the nation in the increase of carbon dioxide emissions, and linked the state's rampant population growth over the past couple of decades to the increase in emissions.
But in neighboring Nevada, Environment Nevada reported that carbon dioxide emissions fell 12.5 percent between 2004 and 2007, and linked the decrease to the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Laughlin.
