Westy
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Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 2,000 
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Post by Westy on May 23, 2024 6:07:47 GMT -8
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Valley_(Great_Basin)#WaterA very unique area, prior to my quest for the crown often frequented this area for hiking, climbing, ski touring and riding my motorcycle. Essentially a drawdown of the aquifer will devoid the lowest elevation surface of greasewood. Greasewood anchors the surface from blowing away. The denuding of Snake Valley will have negative impact to air quality (already among the worst in the nation) for the Wasatch Front. The area is unique in that within the North and South Snake Range there exists 13 different environmental zones. The Red Rock Canyon for outdoorsy people is way not new. It has been a popular rock-climbing venue for decades. Photo: From Peabody's Wayback Machine...State Line, Snake Valley 
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ErnieW
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I want to backpack
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Post by ErnieW on May 23, 2024 6:19:46 GMT -8
Water use in Vegas:
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 10,522
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Post by ErnieW on May 23, 2024 6:23:27 GMT -8
This one is from the Southern Nevada Water Authority:
Other tips
Warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda, require about one-third less water.
If you have rotating sprinklers, water for 12 minutes each watering, rather than 4 minutes.
Don't water when it's windy or rainy.
Water your lawn on a separate schedule from your plants, trees and shrubs.
Test, adjust and repair your sprinkler heads and drip emitters weekly in the summer and monthly in the winter.
Always check your sprinkler system for malfunctions after mowing.
Modify spray patterns from sprinkler heads by re-adjusting for better direction or installing variable arc nozzles.
Use an SNWA instant rebate coupon to replace your irrigation clock with a "smart" controller.
Replace your water-thirsty grass with a water-smart landscape and you may qualify for a rebate.
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sarbar
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After being here since 2001...I couldn't say goodbye yet!
Posts: 1,166 
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Post by sarbar on May 23, 2024 7:46:44 GMT -8
Most people choose to live close to their work. They do? We don't. The only stipulation in my husband's career has been he has very high speed internet and access to an international airport within a few hours. He has worked remote, in multiple jobs, since 2009. Tech work has changed a lot of people where they live. |
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on May 23, 2024 8:11:08 GMT -8
Once again, you prove my point. Work from Home is not the norm for the majority of the workforce. In this case, my use of the word "most" should be taken literally.
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Travis
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WYOMING NATIVE
Posts: 2,732
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Post by Travis on May 23, 2024 8:20:02 GMT -8
Most people choose to live close to their work. They do? We don't. The only stipulation in my husband's career has been he has very high speed internet and access to an international airport within a few hours. He has worked remote, in multiple jobs, since 2009. Tech work has changed a lot of people where they live. So if you yourself grow a big garden on the cropland of your "homestead" and your husband works from home through a "very high speed internet," then you both still "live close to your work," don't you? |
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on May 23, 2024 12:24:14 GMT -8
According to the Las Vegas Water District, nearly 90% of Las Vegas Valley's water comes from the Colorado River. Think Lake Mead, 15 miles to the east. For years we have been seeing dire stories about the depleted water supply of Lake Mead. There are 2.33 million people in Las Vegas Valley. 90% of those is still over 2 million people relying on a depleted Lake Mead for water...
From what I read the plan is the the city of Las Vegas will just take water away from farmers as needed. The city says this plan will work through 2050. Others say it will work for as short as 10 years. Both correct. Las Vegas has a plan to pipe already purchased water from upstate aquifers if and when the Colorado River can no longer supply its needs. Same plans as El Paso TX (actually a large city despite even recent movie depictions). The biggest problem with the river may be “deadpool” if the water recedes too low to power the turbines for Vegas area hydroelectricity. Those fountains are actually pretty efficient. The biggest draw on Vegas water supply is the increasing population. Nevada (= Vegas for this discussion) doesn’t have claim to much of the Colorado River in the first place about ~8%. The bigger states of Colorado and California get ~25% each, in comparison. Think even Wyoming and New Mexico get more water than Nevada even though those states are far from Lake Mead. So Las Vegas has made plans for alternative supplies (which then brings up the whole “mice and men” quote). |
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Travis
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WYOMING NATIVE
Posts: 2,732
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Post by Travis on May 23, 2024 16:03:47 GMT -8
Las Vegas has a plan to pipe already purchased water from upstate aquifers if and when the Colorado River can no longer supply its needs. I think Westy at the top of the page addressed the environmental problems that could result from that plan. Nothing in the article linked in the opening post presents evidence of a large-scale migration of "outdoorsy people" from California to Las Vegas. I see no reason to believe that the continuing growth of that desert city is due, even in small part, to outdoorsy people moving there. And besides, I do not accept any notion that somehow climbers are the epitome of outdoorsy people. No one, to my knowledge, is denying that there are good climbing or even hiking venues near Las Vegas. Even the Grand Canyon is not far away. But oddly enough, downriver has started many threads listing someone's opinion of the best cities for outdoor recreation, and I don't recall Las Vegas ever being listed in any of those threads. The side-trip this thread has taken into water usage of the Colorado River is as much my distraction as anyone's. A few climbers, or other outdoorsy people, moving to Las Vegas is not the problem with Colorado River water. Some lawyers spend their entire careers trying to make sense of Western water rights. I seriously doubt we will solve the problems here. The NY Times recently published an article on water usage of the Colorado River. It showed 55% of Colorado River water being consumed for growing livestock feed. That's something to contemplate over that beef steak and glass of milk. That is compared to 12% for residential use and most of that not in Las Vegas. The NY Times graph of water usage is included below. I'm outdoorsy enough to not give a hoot whether my habits represent some typical "outdoorsy" lifestyle. I grew up in semi-desert conditions and felt like I'd die of thirst on numerous occasions. So neither Las Vegas nor it's climbing venues interest me at all. If that is a few climbers' idea of paradise, they are welcome to it. I've never suffered intense thirst in a Wyoming blizzard.  |
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on May 23, 2024 17:23:37 GMT -8
Las Vegas was an occasional work stop for me, and I spent some big chunks of time in the Nevada desert. I wouldn't dream of making it my home base. Even among desert cities, it wouldn't make my top 10.
Red Rocks was one of the fun places I visited from there. Mrs. big_load and I were kicked out along with everyone else in the park due to flash flooding risk in a moderate rainfall. My favorite destination in the area is Mt. Charleston, which I went up twice.
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sarbar
Trail Wise!
After being here since 2001...I couldn't say goodbye yet!
Posts: 1,166
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Post by sarbar on May 25, 2024 7:36:26 GMT -8
So if you yourself grow a big garden on the cropland of your "homestead" and your husband works from home through a "very high speed internet," then you both still "live close to your work," don't you? Bitter sounding you are. In theory, no, because he can work from anywhere, there is the internet. With sat internet that has changed. Same with homeschooling. He can work from nearly anywhere. And has. Oh yeah, and growing food is not a year-round gig. Much of what I do is also not limited to where I am. I have worked from many places - as long as I had an internet connection, off we went. The past years have taught me a lot about not being tied down - and that neither of us want that. |
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sarbar
Trail Wise!
After being here since 2001...I couldn't say goodbye yet!
Posts: 1,166
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Post by sarbar on May 25, 2024 7:40:20 GMT -8
Once again, you prove my point. Work from Home is not the norm for the majority of the workforce. In this case, my use of the word "most" should be taken literally. You worked in blue collar (which isn't a bad thing at all) and are retired. So that influences your view of how work used to be. Tech work is quite real, and the pandemic years showed it could be done remote, from anywhere with a connection. There are so many jobs that don't need an office now. Both Kirk and I work this way. One of my favorite memory areas of the pandemic years was traveling in our RV, homeschooling the boys - and still working. Only reason we have a home base is I like to grow food. Most people my husband knows are full remote workers, and plan on staying that way. The PNW has a lot of them. |
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Travis
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WYOMING NATIVE
Posts: 2,732
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Post by Travis on May 25, 2024 8:17:50 GMT -8
Seriously, Sarbar, that is a completely unfounded statement. Why do you do that? I have absolutely no reason to be bitter towards you at all. My ancestors homesteaded across the continent for longer than there have been homesteading laws — for over 375 years. In a sense, I did some of it myself on a thousand acre plot of vacant land. But technically, a homestead is simply your primary home, which most of us have. Yet, for all practical purposes you "live close to your work," not speaking "in theory" at all. I live close to my work also, doing something I enjoy. You are not all that different, you know. |
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Post by marmotstew on May 25, 2024 9:41:05 GMT -8
Enjoy it while you can. The work from home people will be replaced by robots soon.
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ErnieW
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I want to backpack
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Post by ErnieW on May 25, 2024 10:59:28 GMT -8
Sorry for thread drift but...
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jazzmom
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a.k.a. TigerFan
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Post by jazzmom on May 26, 2024 11:27:47 GMT -8
Tech work is quite real, and the pandemic years showed it could be done remote, from anywhere with a connection. Well, no, not exactly. I mean, yes, it's certainly real, but "tech work" encompasses quite a lot (though I guess that may depend on what your definition of "tech work" is.) I work in embedded systems and even through the worst of the pandemic, our test lab people were in the office here in the U.S. I think our perspective is skewed by the fact that so much of our mechanical/hardware/manufacturing engineering work for commercial companies have been shipped overseas. For the company I worked for during the pandemic, our engineering offices in India and China were the first to get back in the office. But if by "tech work", you mean generally IT stuff, then you're probably right. |
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