Award Date
5-15-2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Committee Member
Andrew Kirk
Second Committee Member
Michael Green
Third Committee Member
Jeff Schauer
Fourth Committee Member
Stephen Brown
Number of Pages
139
Abstract
This paper traces events within the history of environmental activism in Southern Nevada. The first chapter discusses the proposed high level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The second chapter examines the closure of the Reid Gardner Generating Station in Moapa, Nevada. The third chapter details the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Groundwater Development Project. Each of the three chapters is linked by common themes within the history of Southern Nevada environmental activism, including dedicated coalition-building and the refusal of “wastelanding” of the region.
Keywords
activism; environmentalism; history; Nevada; southwest; wasteland
Disciplines
Environmental Health and Protection | Environmental Law | Indigenous Studies | United States History
File Format
File Size
2300 KB
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Butler, Steven, "“A Land No One Would Want”: Environmental Activism and the Rejection of ‘Wasteland’ Narratives in Southern Nevada" (2026). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 5512.
https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/5512
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Included in
Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, United States History Commons