Governor Joe Lombardo has taken action to combat the drought and climate change in Nevada. Over the next two years, more than a million dollars will be used for cloud seeding, a process to increase rainfall. Conservation group Save Red Rock is celebrating this as a major win.
Save Red Rock recognized the desperate situation with dying Joshua Trees and animals seeking water in Las Vegas. They raised $100,000 to install a cloud seeding generator above Red Rock Canyon. When there are water-laden clouds, tiny silver iodide crystals are launched to make the clouds heavier and bring down the moisture as rain.
A single generator can add a significant amount of water, equivalent to 3,000-acre feet or more in a winter season, providing water for thousands of homes in Las Vegas. Cloud seeding helps make areas like Red Rock Canyon greener.
This initiative brings hope for mitigating climate change. Currently, there are two cloud seeding generators in the Spring Mountains, targeting Red Rock Canyon and Mount Charleston/Lee Canyon.
The state has allocated $1.2 million to the Desert Research Institute for cloud seeding projects in multiple locations, supporting efforts to increase rainfall across the state.
