Las Vegas NowUNLV Holds Green Conference on Las Vegas' Future

UNLV Holds Green Conference on Las Vegas' Future

Las Vegas is expected to hit four million people by 2036. That's an amazing number and what it means is there will be a huge fight over water, electricity and a sustainable future. Wednesday, UNLV held a conference about that sustainability. 

With a city known for excess and some tongue-in-cheek waste, some people in Las Vegas want to make sure our valley lives up to its potential -- and we live up to our responsibility to the environment.

"We're two cities. Tale of two cities," said Mayor Oscar Goodman.

In a place where bigger isn't just better, it's the only way to go, there's a storm brewing over the very future of this truly American city.

"They call it sustainability, they call it green, but the truth of the matter is, it's quality of life," said Goodman.

Mayor Oscar Goodman helms the good ship Las Vegas, but when it comes to a sustained, green environmental policy, the rest of the world says Las Vegas is only about waste and greed.

"They should marvel at the Bellagio and the fountains and the great, lavish buffets, but at the same time, there are a 1,900,000 of us who live here who are yearning and thirsty to become a world class city.

But at UNLV... "We are developing sustainability activities on campus driven by the students," said UNLV President David Ashley.

Ashley says the eye of that sustainability storm could be focused there. Students are harnessing the sun in a new way -- channeling it through mirrors and fiber optics and turning it into glowing beams of light. Green, sustainable, cheap -- a new kind of solar available today.

New buildings will use natural light through high tech windows. Tile from local quarries reduces travel costs and truck pollution, plus the latest in ventilation can scale back the use of air conditioners.

But the biggest impact may come from the boots on the ground, changing green grass to something more eco-friendly. And with millions more expected to come to town...

"I mean, we don't have a choice," said Goodman.

The future of Las Vegas may have to let go of the idea that the only green belongs at the tables.

Eyewitness News also asked Mayor Goodman if he thinks it's time to put restrictions on growth in Las Vegas and in the county. He quickly shot down that idea saying Las Vegas needs to get tax breaks and other deals to entice business to do the right thing and build green.

But what about those new kinds of light bulbs and other forms of technology? Experts say technology is all well and good, but it really comes down to usage. If you can live on 80 degrees in your house instead of 72, do it. If you can find a way to carpool, try it. It will all add up.