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Gaining Momentum Dealers Align Behind Electric Cars


Traditionally, auto dealerships have presented a skeptical and confusing experience for those seeking to purchase electric transportation. When Tesla launched the Model S electric sedan in 2012, it had to build its own stores to educate consumers about electric vehicles (EV) because dealers wouldn’t sell them in Texas or Michigan, for instance. The subsequent success of Tesla, Ford and GM EV models, along with a plan to stop selling new internal combustion cars by 2035 in California, have propelled the transition from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles. The American division of German automaker Volkswagen is delivering large quantities of their electric SUV ID.4 as part of a nationwide launch, with more than 650 dealers on board. U.S. CEO Scott Keogh reports that the goal is to have at least one vehicle initially at every VW dealer in America. He says, “We see the potential for EV sales to double this year. We’re optimistic that this is a turning point year for electric vehicles.”


Green Gone


Las Vegas Seeks to Ban Nonfunctional Grass With Assembly Bill 356, Las Vegas- area water officials hope to impose the first policy in the U.S. banning grass on “nonfunctional turf” that no one walks on in such places as highway medians, housing developments and office parks. This ornamental grass, which occupies about


Mixed Message


Nature Documentaries Mislead Public Opinion Nature documentaries, often narrated in a soothing tone accompanied by a compassionate-sounding orchestral score, offer easy escapism from everyday routines with dramatic landscapes and extreme close- up views of the animal world. Over 1 billion people have watched the BBC shows Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II in the last three years and more than 20 projects are in the pipeline through 2022 from the BBC, Silverback Films (A Perfect Planet) and others. In a way, these documentaries shape the way we define nature, especially in an era of restricted global travel. By selecting the most cinematic shots and editing native peoples out of the picture, they create a virgin, parallel universe that is both beautiful and inaccessible.


eight square miles in Las Vegas, requires four times as much water as drought-tolerant landscaping like cactus and other succulents. Removal by 2026 could reduce annual water consumption by roughly 15 percent. Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones says, “To be clear, we are not coming after your average homeowner’s backyard.” California imposed a temporary ban on watering ornamental grass during a recent drought, but no state or major city has eliminated specific categories of grass permanently. The water authority banned developers from planting green front yards in new subdivisions in 2003 and offers owners of older properties up to $3 per square foot to tear out sod and put in desert-type landscaping. Still, water consumption in southern Nevada has increased 9 percent since 2019. The Colorado River, which accounts for 90 percent of southern Nevada’s water, is under intense pressure. Last year was among the driest in the region’s history, when Las Vegas went a record 240 days without measurable rainfall. If the initiative is successful, it may be duplicated in other areas that face their own water crises.


In a 1995 essay, “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” historian William Cronon debunks the concept of wilderness, arguing that European settlers in North America had transformed the idea of wilderness as worthless, scary and unimproved land by reimagining it as a pristine garden of Eden. The unswerving presentation of nature as an untouched wilderness in nature documentaries misleads viewers into thinking that an abundance of these areas currently remains. This encourages people to build environmental solutions around preserving untouched places and possibly kicking indigenous peoples out of their homeland, he charges.


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