Nevada is in crisis.

Rising utility bills have - in the most extreme cases - climbed to over $1,000 a month. Meanwhile, the state is losing ground on emissions reduction goals, which is driving pollution and worsening health outcomes for Nevadans. As temperatures climb higher and higher, air conditioning in the heat of summer becomes the difference between life and death. As the state warms and drought worsens, bigger and more catastrophic wildfires plague the landscape and threaten homes and businesses.

The state can ultimately link its problems back to one source - fossil fuel emissions.

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But it wasn't always this bad. Nevada used to be a leader in the West in charging forward on affordable, reliable energy goals. So, what has changed? And what caused Nevada to fall behind?

On this episode of Two Degrees Out West, learn about the state’s most pressing challenges and some of the things that can be done to bring Nevada back.

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming.

2 Degrees out West is a podcast for advocates and decision makers who want to fight climate change and its impacts across the West.

On 2 Degrees Out West we talk with climate experts and advocates to bring you stories, experiences, and insights from their work in the places we call home.

It is Hosted by Dave Papineau

Want to be part of 2 Degrees Out West?

• Email us with thoughts, suggestions, and interviewees at dave.papineau@westernresources.org.
• Follow us @westernresourceadvocates on Instagram.
• Create a clip sharing "our Bright Climate Future for the West" and send it to us at dave.papineau@westernresources.org. to be included in one of our next episodes.
• Join our email list to stay updated on when new episodes are released and calls to action on how you can help the West.
• ...

While the recent rollbacks of national climate policy and backtracking of hard-fought wins are especially concerning - they aren't the whole story. there is another key venue where wins are happening.

The states.

States and local governments have the power to set energy regulations, emissions reduction goals, and fund critical clean infrastructure and transportation. They can protect land and water and make critical decisions about how to leverage funds to protect the environment.

Many of these battles happen in state legislatures, and some of them happen in utility commissions - bodies that help regulate utilities and often make key decisions when it comes to enforcing state climate policy.

In 2025, things in Arizona are as dire as ever. Extreme heat and drought plague the state. AI data centers promise to strain an already stressed system. Meanwhile, Arizona has limited commitment to meaningful pollution climate goals and no clear plan for handling the data center boom and the energy and water demands it will bring.

Back in 2024 we did an episode on what was happening at the Arizona Corporation Commission, a key energy regulatory body in Arizona. On last year’s podcast we covered some of the mistakes being made by the ACC. Today, we are talking about a major win we saw against the ACC that advances our goals.

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming.

2 Degrees out West is a podcast for advocates and decision makers who want to fight climate change and its impacts across the West.

On 2 Degrees Out West we talk with climate experts and advocates to bring you stories, experiences, and insights from their work in the places we call home.

It is Hosted by Dave Papineau

Want to be part of 2 Degrees Out West?

• Email us with thoughts, suggestions, and interviewees at dave.papineau@westernresources.org.
• Follow us @westernresourceadvocates on Instagram.
• Create a clip sharing "our Bright Climate Future for the West" and send it to us at dave.papineau@westernresources.org. to be included in one of our next episodes.
• Join our email list to stay updated on when new episodes are released and calls to action on how you can help the West.
• ...

In the last two years, artificial intelligence has rapidly changed the world that we live in. If you spend time online, you’ve seen it incorporated into almost every aspect of our digital lives. Search engines, social media, and online tools are all in a race to incorporate AI.

Powering AI are data centers – buildings that house endless rows of servers that bring LLMs, cloud computing, and high-speed internet to our fingertips. But all this power comes at a cost.

Data centers use energy and water – and plenty of it. Until now those demands have been predictable and easy for utilities to incorporate into their forecasts. Now, the new rapid growth and change of AI threatens to break that mold.

WRA has been investing a lot of time and energy into understanding what that cost for the climate could be and solutions to address those costs.

To better understand, we asked some of WRAs experts to explain what’s happening with data centers and what we can do about it. In this podcast, we will explore why data centers are different in the age of AI, how they pose a threat, and what our states can do about it.

On this Episode of Two Degrees Out West – What is the climate cost of AI, and what can we do about it?

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming.

2 Degrees out West is a podcast for advocates and decision makers who want to fight climate change and its impacts across the West.

On 2 Degrees Out West we talk with climate experts and advocates to bring you stories, experiences, and insights from their work in the places we call home.

It is Hosted by Dave Papineau

Want to be part of 2 Degrees Out West?

• Email us with thoughts, suggestions, and interviewees at dave.papineau@westernresources.org.
• Follow us @westernresourceadvocates on Instagram.
• Create a clip sharing "our Bright Climate Future for the West" and send it to us at dave.papineau@westernresources.org. to be included in one of our next episodes.
• Join our email list to stay updated on when new episodes are released and calls to action on how you can help the West.
• ...