Environmental Justice
Nevada is on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We’re the fastest-warming state in the country, and we’re feeling it. Summers are getting hotter, fire seasons are lasting longer, and our most vulnerable communities are being hit the hardest.
In Las Vegas, temperatures regularly soar past 120°F. In 2023 alone, Nevada saw record-breaking heat days and more than 160 heat-related deaths in Clark County, the vast majority among unhoused, elderly, or low-income residents without access to safe cooling. Reno and Northern Nevada face growing wildfire threats, with toxic smoke choking the air and forcing families indoors, if they even have stable housing.
These climate impacts are not felt equally.
Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant communities are more likely to live in neighborhoods with fewer trees, less green space, and more heat-trapping pavement. These areas, known as “urban heat islands”, can be up to 20°F hotter than wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. Meanwhile, working families face skyrocketing electricity bills from NV Energy, while being shut out of clean, affordable options like rooftop or community solar.
The science is clear, and so is our faith: we have a moral obligation to protect our neighbors, safeguard creation, and demand a just transition. That means:
- Expanding solar access to low-income families
- Preventing energy shutoffs and monopoly utility price hikes
- Pushing counties and cities to plant trees, cool neighborhoods, and invest in climate resilience
- Supporting policies that prioritize the communities most harmed by pollution, displacement, and heat
The climate crisis is already here. But so are we–people of faith, people of conscience, ready to act.
This is about survival. This is about justice. This is about the sacred.