Thursday, July 31, 2008
Full Text Of Letter To Las Vegas Sun Which Was Published On July 22, 2008
By Robert L. Candiotti
On July 18, I read a letter to the Las
Vegas Sun from a writer who is an advocate of the old-fashioned types of energy - coal, nuclear and petroleum. His
letter inspired me to submit a reply to the newspaper. It was printed in the Sun on July 22. The editor did, I think,
a skilled and wise trimming of my letter. However, here is the full version that I penned:
When I read Clarence Lanzrath's letter in the July 18 Sun
- promoting coal burning, nuclear proliferation and new oil well drilling - what crossed my mind is a line from former Vice
President Al Gore's most recent speech in Washington, DC, that I had read only the night before.
The sentence
I thought of when Lanzrath spoke of "energy sources we know work" is this from Gore's July 17 speech: We
have a "tendency to offer old solutions to each crisis separately."
I think Lanzrath's arguments
present old solutions that are threadbare and worn out.
To point out that Gore's view of the future
of energy differs from that of Lanzrath is the understatement of the year, I realize. Lanzrath submits we should trudge along
with the "proven" energy resources (which, evidence reaffirms more and more, are ruining the planet) while Gore
states he is making a challenge to the U.S. "to commit to producing 100 percent of electricity from renewable energy
and truly carbon-free sources within 10 years."
Within 10 years? Now that is thinking out of the box,
and circumventing possible global disaster, I feel.
Lanzrath derides renewable energy developments as "ventures,"
while Gore states global warming is a present danger by which, ultimately, "the future of human civilization is at stake."
Something that I find constantly refreshing is that Southern Nevada is most definitely not a realm of "old solutions"
regarding the future of electricity. Many people probably still do not realize University Nevada, Las Vegas, is rife with
research advancements and scientific breakthroughs in many areas of renewable energy. In fact, on August 20, UNLV is holding
its 2008 Renewable Energy Symposium.
Also, the day before, August 19, the university campus will be site for the
National Clean Energy Summit sponsored by UNLV, Center for American Progress Action Fund and Nevada U.S. Senator Harry Reid.
Heading for the past is not going to get us where we need to be. As for me, I intend to be at UNLV August 19 and 20
to hear what is going on in the cutting-edge areas of clean, renewable energy.
12:21 pm pdt
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Al Gore's Speech Today Vindicates My Thoughts About A Green Airport In Southern Nevada
By Robert L. Candiotti
This is amazing and invigorating.
Today, Al Gore, former Vice President, and Nobel Peace Prize winner,
made a speech at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, that comes at a good time for me, personally.
Of course,
considering BBC radio tonight ran the speech as its number one global news story of the day, I sense the speech
is pertinent to more than just me.
It is an extraordinary speech. I suggest you read it or listen to it. It is
a declaration from a concerned man who believes "the future of human civilization is at stake." And solutions are
not that easy to come by, he thinks. He says human beings have a "tendency to offer old solutions to each crisis
separately."
Further along in the speech he says, "We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from
the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change."
The
thing that has caused me to state in the beginning of this blog that it is amazing and invigorating is Gore's
challenge to the nation "to commit to producing 100 percent of electricity from renewable energy and truly carbon-free
sources within 10 years."
I can actually imagine an Ivanpah Valley Airport that functions with 100 percent
of its electricity produced by only carbon-free sources. For a while, now, I have thought this is possible.
Gore
talks about 100 percent renewable energy within 10 years. Ten years away is 2018. Significantly, that is the year Ivanpah Airport
is now predicted to open for business. 2018.
I admit, there have been several times I have thought
my visions of a 100 percent "green" airport near Las Vegas are far-fetched. Now, with Al Gore's
speech today in Washington, I'm thinking, "Yeah. Why not?"
The idea of a 100 percent green international
airport located in a respected world center of renewable energy is intriguing and stimulating.
And, if
one gets caught up in Al Gore's exhortation for a carbon-free America within10 ten years, a fully-green Ivanpah Airport
can almost, just almost, seem attainable.
10:14 pm pdt
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Solar Is A Good Place To Be Right Now, Says Dina Titus At Solar Energy Society Meeting
By Robert L. Candiotti
Tonight, at the monthly meeting of Solar NV, the Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Solar Energy Society, Nevada
State Senator Dina Titus commented on the growth of interest in renewable energy.
The meeting was at Nevada Power's
Wengert Room on West Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas, which is offered to organizations by the power company. Titus said,
"I've been at environmental meetings in this room when there's just been four people."
Tonight,
there were between 70 and 80 people, creating a standing room only situation.
Titus also said, "Politically
and academically, solar is a good place to be right now."
She pointed out that T. Boone Pickens, a Texas billionaire
who made his fortune in the oil industry, is now deeply immersed in the development of wind energy in Texas, and will be a
speaker at the National Clean Energy Summit to be held August 19, 2008, at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
According
to a July 1, 2008, article by Phoebe Sweet on lasvegassun.com, other speakers at the National Clean Energy Summit
will include Bill Clinton, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and former Treasury Secretary
Robert Rubin.
Titus also noted, on the following day, August 20, UNLV's 2008 Renewable Energy Symposium
will take place on the university's campus.
Titus is an advocate of the development and installation of renewable
energy infrastructure. She is a Democrat currently running for U.S. Congress against the incumbent, Republican Jon Porter.
9:16 pm pdt
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Riding City Buses, Underrated Things Of Beauty, To McCarran International Airport
By Robert L. Candiotti
One of the most underrated
things of beauty is the city bus.
People who never take the bus cannot know how gorgeous the approaching bus
is, for example, on a bitter and windy winter night in January.
This morning - July 12, 2008 - is the
opposite of winter, and the bus can still be gorgeous. I have to catch a flight to L.A. I know I have cut it
close. For me, to make the bus connection, and make the flight, I have to get on the 6:52 a.m. CAT 213. I rushed to get to
the bus stop on time. Actually, I was at the stop with two or three minutes to spare.
So, I'm looking
up the street. Waiting for the 213. Where is the 213?
The route of the 213 eastbound prescribes
that it make a left turn from Fort Apache onto Desert Inn Road. As all habitual bus riders know, once in a while buses do
not arrive when they're supposed to. Buses do break down and, sometimes, bad traffic accidents disrupt the schedule.
If the 6:52 bus doesn't arrive, it is a crisis. I'll miss my flight and upset my mother in the San Fernando
Valley. Maybe I'll even be forced to miss cousin Victor's surprise birthday party taking place late this afternoon
in Los Angeles. I'm eagerly extending my eyes up the street. Where, oh where, is the 213?
But then...about
800 yards away, I see the nose of the bus poke out behind CVS. Glory be! The bus turns left onto Desert Inn.
Buses are beautiful. I'm riding as I write this down.
Of course, now I'm starting to
think about the connection, the 109 (probably my favorite bus line in Las Vegas). The 109 goes south on Maryland Parkway
all the way to McCarran International Airport. It drops you off at such a great spot. Very close to airport security.
It is so convenient.
Originating downtown, the 109 passes some great intersections - i.e.,
Charleston, Flamingo, Tropicana, and eventually enters McCarran.
To me, taking the bus to McCarran is better than
driving and parking.
Another thing that I can say with 100 per cent certainty is bus riding puts you in shape.
Often, you have to run to catch the bus. Countless times, it's just a matter of seconds between catching
and missing the bus.
Here's my stop. Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn Road. This is where I catch the connection
to go south.
Oh no! The 109 is already poised at the red light before gliding quickly to the bus stop.
In my boots, and with my luggage, I start to run. But now my light is red. 109's light is green. Will I
risk my life? Yes! I run to the center island of Maryland Parkway, and then across the second half of the street. I know
I've literally got to race the 109 to the stop.
Hallelujah! I see that someone at the stop
has a bicycle. It will take them at least 30 seconds to put the bike on the outside rack. That gives me precious time. I
get to the bus and board, even ahead of the bike rider.
As we roll south on Maryland Parkway, passing the university's
campus, I see the huge beige letters against a red brick wall - UNLV. To me, UNLV is the geographical center of Las
Vegas. Las Vegas would be a much-diminished place without UNLV.
Maryland Parkway between Flamingo and Tropicana is one of my favorite parts of Las Vegas. It's got an energy and mentality
that I like. Sometimes I walk Maryland Parkway all the way between the two powerful intersections. Sometimes I walk parallel
to Maryland within the campus. It feels good to be on the university's campus.
Maryland Parkway has
the power to keep me honest. In my most optimistic moments, I think vice versa is also true.
The bus
passes the "Rebel Books" bookstore. UNLV is "The Rebels."
That's fine with me. Maryland Parkway is Rebel Country. I'm at home at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I guess it's
because I have a rebellious heart and a passion for the academe.
McCarran is more than near the city. It's
in the city. It seems like I just blink my eyes a few times and the bus is entering the airport. It amazes me
how close McCarran's runways are to Mandalay Bay and Luxor.
At the 109's airport stop, I get
off. I already have my boarding pass, and I'm definitely on time.
As I've said, the city bus is one
of the most underrated things of beauty.
8:42 am pdt
Thursday, July 10, 2008
What Would Lewis And Clark Think If They Were Able To Repeat Expediton Route Today?
By Robert L. Candiotti
Assembling near St. Louis in 1803, and starting their expedition in May, 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark went west
and reached the Pacific ocean at what is now Astoria, Oregon, in 1805. Their extraordinary journey ended back in St.
Louis in September, 1806.
That is just a few years more than 200 years ago. It sometimes staggers me to think how
much things have changed since the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
What would they think and say if they were
able to return and take the same routes again today?
6:39 am pdt
Monday, July 7, 2008
IvanpahValley.com is one year old today
By Robert L. Candiotti
Today is the one year anniversary of IvanpahValley.com.
IvanpahValley.com
was launched on 7/7/07.
The less I say about the milestone, probably the better. But I will make mention of the
Build It Myself Website program that I use through register.com. It has allowed me to create my very own website with no knowledge
of how to do it, and with virtually no budget.
I would like to think, over the past several months, my website
design and construction skills have improved. The newest page on IvanpahValley.com, Nevada Toll Roads, may
show a little bit of improvement. However, I can say with total conviction, building a website is fun. And, in this limited
and lightly read blog, I will quietly admit that fun is primarily what I am about!
To learned scholars of the far
future who will be studying IvanpahValley.com, let me say, for the historical record, over the past few days
I have been thinking about the very recent victory of the solar industry entrepreneurs and proponents over the Bush-Cheney
administration and the Bureau of Land Management. (I know U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid deserves credit, too). The BLM
reversed its freeze on receiving applications to build solar facilities on federal land.
It is an important symbolic
development, for sure. Solar energy is on a roll. I think it's great.
Along that line, the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas, will be hosting the 2008 Renewable Energy Symposium on August 20. To give credit, the 2007 Inaugural
Energy Symposium, held last August, provided much of the inspiration that has carried me through the first year of IvanpahValley.com.
Of course, I am already looking forward to being at the 2008 Symposium.
Today, it's going to be
108 degrees in Las Vegas. Not a cloud in the sky. In fact, clouds are hardly ever in the sky here. This is solar country.
Today, America will be recovering from a three-day 4th of July weekend.
There's not much more
to say on the first anniversary of IvanpahValley.com.
7:49 am pdt
Friday, July 4, 2008
Toll Road Plans In Las Vegas Now Will Affect The Type Of Roads To Ivanpah In 2018
By Robert L. Candiotti
It has been just a few months since I first read about Nevada Department of Transportation's belief that a 19-mile
"demonstration" toll road system should be established in the freeway center of Las Vegas.
The article
by Francis McCabe, "Budget may take tolls on Nevada roadways," in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on April
11, 2008, quotes Transportation Department Director Susan Martinovich as saying, after much talk and many meetings, "here
is an opportunity to try" with a demonstration of private toll lanes, funded through public-private partnership (which
are rapidly becoming buzzwords), on existing Las Vegas freeways.
For me, that story led to further reading,
and, on June 13, there was a story on KNPR's State of Nevada that got me really thinking.
With many
things about Nevada toll roads - from the pioneer past to the present and future -swirling around in my head, I wrote
a new page two days ago for the mother-site of this blog, IvanpahValley.com.
The page, titled Nevada Toll
Roads, tries to touch upon various viewpoints on the significance of NDOT's proposed 19-mile toll project.
I currently operate under the premise that the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport eventually will be built. Therefore,
what will happen in the next few years regarding toll roads in Las Vegas will directly affect the types of fast, highly programmed
lanes that the roads into, and out of, Ivanpah will require.
Anyone interested in the topic of Nevada tolls roads
will probably find the new Nevada Toll Roads page of IvanpahValley.com to be worthwhile reading.
7:43 pm pdt
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
July Is First Anniversary Month Of IvanpahValley.com, Ten Year Anniversary Living In Las Vegas
By Robert L. Candiotti
This month, July, 2008, marks the one year anniversary of the mother-site of this blog. IvanpahValley.com
was launched on 7/7/07.
Whatever is added to the site or the blog this month will be written, I hope, with a one
year perspective in mind.
This month also delineates ten years of my residency in Las Vegas. I moved here in a
heat wave in July, 1998.
Las Vegas still often makes me breathless. The Strip is an appropriate word. Las
Vegas strips people naked (often literally). Me too, I guess.
As for me, I've learned the better I dress,
the more free I am to scrutinize and be entertained by humanity gone wild. If I dress nice, then I can really stare.
But, back to IvanpahValley.com and Ivanpah Airport News, this month will be
recognized as the first anniversary milestone.
6:32 am pdt
