This week’s Indy Environment looks at new research that documents the ways in which warmer temperatures have contributed to “atmospheric thirst.”

More renewable development is coming, and developers are favoring large-scale projects on federal public land. The question is where to put all of the renewable energy — and how to plan.

With the legislative session almost halfway over, this week’s Indy Environment newsletter looks at several bills, including proposals to transition away from natural gas, change mining oversight and create new programs for how water is managed across the state.

In May, state regulators approved a revised report holding the mine responsible for less than half of the potential contamination previously modeled, a conclusion far more favorable for ARCO. In the long term, it could mean a less extensive and less expensive aquifer cleanup.

But now, Nevada political leaders are now facing a hard truth — the state is unlikely to meet its new and ambitious carbon reduction and climate change goals without implementing major policy changes — such as adopting California’s stricter standards for vehicle emissions.

Acting State Engineer Tim Wilson will take on the role in an official capacity, the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced on Thursday. The official appointment fills a position at the center of several ongoing legal fights over water use across the state.

Signing the executive order was the most recent step for Sisolak — the state’s first Democratic governor in 20 years — in aligning Nevada with national and worldwide efforts to combat the effects of climate change, including signing up the state in March to meet the emission reduction targets as part of the U.S. Climate Alliance.

State officials have determined that Assemblywoman Heidi Swank is ineligible to lead Nevada’s newly formed outdoor recreation office, despite announcing the lawmaker’s appointment last month.

During a meeting of the interim Legislative Committee on Energy on Friday, Department of Conservation and Environmental Resources Director Brad Crowell gave lawmakers a sneak peek, as well as a wake-up call, on how projected greenhouse gas emissions are still trending higher than statewide emission reduction goals.

Swank, a four-term legislator who chaired the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining committee in the 2017 and 2019 legislative sessions, was announced on Monday as the new administrator of the state’s Division of Outdoor Recreation, created in the 2019 legislative session as a way to promote recreation businesses and promote conservation efforts.

Sandoval’s tenure was marked by debates over perennial issues for Nevada: water, land and development. The governor entered the fray in arguments over rooftop solar, siting renewable energy projects, public land expansions, grazing rights, drought policy, and controversial rules to protect the sage grouse, an imperiled bird that reflects the tension between development and conservation.