Environment: The Dilemmas of Power

More than a decade ago, it became clear that the booming West and Southwest would soon need far more electric power. But people in Phoenix or Los Angeles did not want to live next door to generating plants that spew soot and noxious gases, discharge hot water and spawn unsightly transmission lines. As a result, the area's electric utilities decided to build new plants as far away from people as possible—in the desert shared by Arizona, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico. Eventually, a consortium of 23 public and private organizations in seven states were involved in planning the distribution of energy...