The economic crash brought Vegas to its knees; climate change could do it again

[marmar]

(Grist) Next time you fly into Las Vegas at night, take a close look at the casino-studded carnival in the center of the city. You’ll notice something odd. Amid all the glitter, there are a couple of black spots, like patches of dark matter in a star cluster. These are the dead zones, reminders of the 2007 economic collapse that brought this city to its knees.

The largest one is the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a gleaming, blue-black skyscraper that stands at the north end of the Strip. The $3 billion project was to be the tallest building between Dallas and L.A., a 68-story, 3,889-room hotel-casino that would out-glitz all the rest. It was two-thirds complete when the economy crashed, and time seemed to grind to a halt.

In 2010, billionaire Carl Icahn bought the bankrupt project at a fire sale for $150 million. Since then, it has become an eyesore and a destination for urban explorers. Icahn has been mum about his plans for the development, but the recent disappearance of the construction crane on its roof gives credence to rumors that he plans to dismantle the structure and sell it for scrap, possibly to the Chinese, who seem to still be building skyscrapers.

What a fucking world we live in.

.....(snip).....

So how does climate change play into all of this? Well, it will make life in Vegas even hotter and drier than it is now, as I’ve written. But the primary impacts will likely be economic. Vegas is, after all, a city that imports almost everything necessary to its existence — not just most of its water, but nearly all of its food, and its primary economic lifeblood: tourists.

What happens when rising oil prices prevent the airlines from offering cheap tickets for weekend revelers, or when the drive from L.A. (a city that is going to have plenty of climate-related problems of its own) becomes so expensive that people find it’s no longer worth the trip? “If the Indian casinos in California really upped their game,” says Brown, the economist, “I could see people saying, ‘Why spend $100 for a tank of gas to go to Vegas when I could go to the (local) casino I see advertised at the Padres game?’” .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/cities/the-economic-crash-brought-vegas-to-its-knees-climate-change-could-do-it-again/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Climate change will touch every one of us in ways unimaginable to us now.

And it's just getting underway.

K&R

[Warpy]

2. Could? Will.

That city is especially vulnerable to drought, along with most of southern California. Desalinization will save southern CA but Las Vegas has nothing to desalinate, not for the huge population it has accumulated since the 70s.

Strategies not yet thought of will allow a few people to remain there, but its days as a huge metropolitan center are numbered.

The extreme drought this winter is their wakeup call. They can't keep hitting the snooze button and expect to survive.

ETA: I chose a western city sitting on top of a huge aquifer when I moved here. People here are very respectful of limited water, you won't see outdoor fountains and few people have swimming pools and what little pools there are have solar covers so they don't evaporate. Evaporation in this climate can drop water level two inches a day.

Even golf courses are getting into the act, putting artificial turf on fairways and keeping natural grass only on the greens.

[KamaAina]

11. Albuquerque?

I've read that the aquifer may not be a huge as everyone always thought it was.

[Warpy]

13. No, it's not it was mapped out in the 90s.

and part of the flow of the San Juan river has been diverted into the Rio Grande because of that.

Water restrictions weren't that hard to learn out here, I've lived in a town in Mass. where the military had poisoned the wells so badly they told us not to shower in it. Fortunately that didn't last long, only until new wells were drilled and the system flushed, but I kept a water service there for cooking and drinking water.

However, if push comes to shove, the aquifer will supply drinking water if not laundry and dishwasher water until we figure something else out.

[misterhighwasted]

3. Oh yes absolutely climate will impact the Vegas & travel industry.

We are already seeing the effects of water wars & along with oil & gas it is a commodity there for the taking.
You are right about making a day or weekend trip to the local casinos vs Vegas.
I have no doubt the emergence of casinos operated by Native American Inc has put the hurt on places like Vegas.

[raouldukelives]

4. I know one thing that will happen when people stop flying and driving to unnecessary destinations.

The amount of carbon they release will decrease.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Vegas will survive

all be it a bit different. The Bigee's from the East Coast have put their money down and they aren't going to walk away. Big change agent happening at this time is,a ton of money,coming from Silicon Valley to purchase vacant land and other beat up properties in a parallel pattern along the strip. Urban trends are going in a gentrification of areas along entertainment and business corridors. High density housing tailored to well educated and economically stable tenants is the new trend. New construction standards have really changed,better energy efficiencies,solar,use of thermo heating and cooling,recycling water systems,desert landscaping. Vegas uses less water per capita than Phoenix,and,if it wasn't for the Salt River Project(pipe line from Lake Powell)they would be crap out of luck.

Lot's of tech companies setting up shop in this area. The money people are pushing for a Las Vegas Valley Tech Corridor. The major change agent that could kill this off would seem to be a state Legislature that goes TeaBillie,so far,it looks to going Midwest Blue. People will adapt,all be it with some,kicking and bitching all the way. Going to be interesting,change is good,best will be the influx of younger people of all ethnic backgrounds. And that can be a whole new side show out here in some of the more backassward towns and villages. Just think of Bunkerville an the Bundy Clan. Yah!!!

[sakabatou]

6. Sooner or later, in my opnion, Las Vegas will be a ghost town

[MisterP]

9. basically it's a ghost town but with people in it--very postmodern

[NickB79]

14. Yep

[Egnever]

7. The local casino has nothing on Vegas

The only thing similar is the gambling. Vegas offers much more than gambling.

They just approved a brand new stadium. The odds of that happening in the face of a real threat to the ability to provide water are very slim companies don't throw around billions without thinking it through.

There are plans for importation of water including a proposed feed from California.

The idea that Vegas is dying because it was hit by the crash like every other part of the country is silly. Yes construction stopped here for several years but it has started back up. Their are new projects all over town now including a new mega mall on the west side and a water park on the east.

This article is thick with the doom and gloom but pretty short on reality.

[KamaAina]

12. "a proposed feed from California"?!

Over my dead body! We don't have any water to export even in wet years! It's bad enough that SoCal sticks its giant straw into the Delta and what was once Mono Lake, but Vegas?!

[progressoid]

8. Never really understood the appeal of Vegas.

Went once for business. Doubt I'll ever return.

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. Vegas is doomed, probably within 30 years

barring major engineering works to divert rivers from another watershed, or to pipe desalinated seawater from the West Coast; the level of Lake Mead is dropping, and it's predicted to hit dead pool (below the lowest intake pipe) at some point in the next few decades. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is spending billions to bore a tunnel under Lake Mead to drain it from the bottom when that happens.