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Members of the Western Shoshone Indian tribe have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management seeking to stop a just-approved open-pit gold mine from digging up what they say is a sacred mountain in Nevada to get at some 5 million ounces of gold. If the project continues ahead as planned, the mine would cover some 6,600 acres of federal land.

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Nevada's Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump inched forward Monday as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission agreed to formally review the feds' license application for the site. It will likely take the NRC four years or so to peruse the Department of Energy's 8,600-page application and decide whether to give Yucca the go-ahead. Attorneys for the state of Nevada, which is highly disinterested in housing 77,000 tons of radioactive waste, had petitioned the NRC to reject the license application. "The NRC's decision puts nuclear politics over the health and safety of Nevada families," says state Rep. Shelley Berkley (D). Despite being nowhere close to having official permission to open, the project has already cost nearly $14 billion. The total cost is currently estimated at $96.2 billion, and the repository will open no earlier -- and likely later -- than 2020.

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The total cost of dumping nuclear waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain repository will hit $96.2 billion, the Department of Energy estimated Tuesday. The estimate has jumped 38 percent, excluding inflation, since 2001. And it assumes no new construction of nuclear reactors; to put that in perspective, John McCain is pushing for the U.S. to build up to 45 new nuclear plants by 2030. The Energy Department ambitiously assumes that Yucca will begin accepting waste in 2020, continue through 2070, and close in 2113. It also estimates that the site could take in as much as 122,000 tons of nuclear waste, even though Congress has limited Yucca's capacity to 77,000 tons. About 64,000 tons of used reactor fuel is already chillin' at 121 temporary sites across the U.S., and more than 2,000 tons are added each year.

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Thousands of abandoned mines across the U.S. West pose hazards to the public, according to a strongly worded audit from the Interior Department inspector general. The Bureau of Land Management's mine program "has been undermined, neglected, and marginalized," says the report, and many easily accessible mines have "dangerously dilapidated structures, serious environmental hazards, and gaping cavities." With very few fences and warning signs, passersby can stroll right in to areas tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury. "Even more disturbing," says the report, "we found that BLM supervisors told staff to ignore these problems, and employees were criticized or received threats of retaliation for identifying contaminated sites." Mining companies have minimal responsibility for post-digging cleanup, and no dedicated funding source exists for mine remediation. A bill to update antiquated U.S. mining law passed the House of Representatives in the fall, but has stalled in the Senate.

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The U.S. Department of Energy has filed a formal application to construct a nuclear-waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. The application, which runs tens of thousands of pages, attempts to prove that 77,000 tons of nuclear waste could be stored at Yucca Mountain without harming public health, safety, and the environment for up to a million years. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have three to four years to decide if it's convinced. President Bush gave his blessing to Yucca Mountain six years ago, and more than $6 billion has already been spent on research and engineering. But the much-delayed project has encountered strong public opposition; the state of Nevada plans to file as many as 500 contentions against the application. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both said they would withdraw the application if elected president; Sen. John McCain has said he would move forward with it.

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For more on Southwest cities see our full feature on sustainability initiatives underway in Phoenix.

Scan any list of "green U.S. cities" for winners from the Southwest, and you'll find a geographical void. Sure, a liberal-leaning place like Austin or Santa Fe or Boulder might sneak onto the list, but in general, there's a dearth of entries from this sun-drenched region. And that's troubling, as Southwest cities tend to be among the country's fastest-growing -- and thus in direst need of careful future planning.

While it's true that this hot corner of the country has traditionally been cool to sustainability -- due in part to a strong property-rights mentality -- some leaders are pushing for change. Here's a look at a few cities where green is on the rise.

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez launches a new bus route in 2006.

Albuquerque, N.M. Like many Southwestern cities, Albuquerque suffers two major sustaina-woes: too much reliance on cars, and too little water to go around. But it's been making efforts to ameliorate those problems, if not exactly solve them. Thanks in large part to the leadership of Mayor Martin Chavez -- an early signatory to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement -- the city has implemented a water conservation program and made greenhouse-gas reduction a priority. New bus routes and "bike and ride" incentives have seen public transit options increase, and city-funded construction projects must meet green-building standards; a longer-range plan aims to boost compact, mixed-use development and walkability. Chavez's fellow mayors named Albuquerque the "greenest city in the nation" last year, but that laurel came with controversy attached. And with a 20 percent increase in vehicle miles traveled since 1990, this motor-loving metro area still has a long way to go.

Dallas: Greening up its act?

Dallas, Texas When it comes to the Lone Star State, Austin usually hogs the smart-city spotlight. But its big brother to the north -- fingered as one of the worst sprawl offenders in the U.S. -- has quietly undertaken some eco-improvements of its own. Through a comprehensive planning process called Forward Dallas!, the city has tackled such thorny topics as land use, public transportation, housing, and urban design -- all with input from enthusiastic citizens -- and is now pursuing the creation of walkable streets; reuse of historic properties; development of affordable housing; and an increase in jobs and housing located near the city's network of 40 planned and existing light-rail stations. The city government has adopted a Green Dallas program whose steps include purchasing 40 percent of its energy from renewable sources this year, and this spring, the city council passed a green-building ordinance mandating improvements in energy efficiency.

The glitzy mixed-use CityCenter, under construction.

Photo: eflon

Las Vegas, Nev. Is Sin City ready to cash in on the sustainability trend? Er, not quite. In fact, it's often held up as the least redeemable of America's "desert oasis" cities -- and it doesn't show signs of stopping. As SustainLane puts it, "Las Vegas is undergoing a fast-forward version of the classic urban development pattern of exurban sprawl that has led other Sun Belt cities to complete dependence on the automobile." But just as the city has worked to make itself more family-friendly in recent years, it's also working to counter some of the questionable growth patterns of its past. (And we ain't talking about Frankie's hairstyles.) A 76-acre, $8 billion development called CityCenter is attempting -- in a glitzy, Vegas kind of way -- to bring a dash of mixed-use urban reality to the Strip, seeking LEED certification along the way. The city has implemented water and energy conservation measures, and pays residents to rip out artificial green lawns and replace them with desert landscaping. They may be small steps, but optimists are gambling that there's hope for Las Vegas yet.

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There's a 50-50 chance that the Arizona- and Nevada-bordering, human-made Lake Mead will become Dry Ditch Mead by 2021, according to a study to be published in the journal Water Resources Research. Oh, and that's a conservative estimate, say the study authors, as is this one: By 2017, there's an equally good chance that water levels in the reservoir could drop so low that the Hoover Dam would be incapable of producing hydroelectric power. Lake Mead provides water to thirsty cities including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as well as H2O to agricultural areas. Coauthor Tim Barnett says he was "stunned at the magnitude of the problem and how fast it was coming at us," and the study recommends that officials implement conservation and mitigation policies and technologies. Stat.

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Hillary Clinton is taking pains to make sure all Nevadans know her views on -- gasp! -- an environmental issue: She would stop plans to store nuclear waste at the state's Yucca Mountain repository. "This is not just, 'We're in Nevada, so we'll talk about an issue Nevadans care about,'" Clinton assured voters. "This is an American issue." Yucca Mountain was discussed in Nevada's recent Democratic debate; Clinton is running a radio ad in the state telling listeners that Barack Obama, who has also pledged to close Yucca Mountain, is less committed to closing the site than she is. In response, long-time anti-Yucca activist and Obama supporter Bob Fulkerson tells reporters that it is "completely ludicrous and disingenuous to suggest that Barack Obama has somehow been soft on Yucca Mountain."

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The three leading Democratic presidential candidates came together in Nevada last night for yet another debate. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama all wooed Nevada voters by voicing opposition to the Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository, with Edwards taking his opposition a step further and coming out against all new nuclear construction. The highest drama came before the debate: candidate Dennis Kucinich had been invited to participate, but the invitation was withdrawn after his poor showing in New Hampshire and Iowa. Kucinich sued, a judge found in his favor, and the case was appealed to the state Supreme Court -- which re-excluded Kucinich from the debate just before it was to begin.

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