US-ENVIRONMENT-CLIMATE-DROUGHT-LAKEMEAD-WATER-HYDROPOWER

An aerial image taken on June 28, 2022 shows equipment during housing construction at Lake Las Vegas adjacent to Lake Mead along the Colorado River in Henderson, Nevada. Millions of gallons of Colorado River hurtle through the Hoover Dam every day, generating electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes. But the mega drought desiccating the western United States is sending reservoir levels plummeting towards deadpool -- the point at which the dam can no longer produce power. In the desert periphery of Las Vegas, there is plenty of new construction, with huge houses being put up in the resort settlement of Lake Las Vegas. And from the air, the vibrant green of dozens of golf courses mark an otherwise dustbowl landscape. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)