Col. Howard "Dave" Belote, commander of the 99th Air Base Wing at the Nellis Air Force Training Range, pledged to work together early in the process on projects like renewable energy in an attempt to dispel the military's image as an obstacle. "We're not trying to stop development, but we want to say we're here, we're going to be here for a long time," Belote told Nye County Commissioners Tuesday.

Renewable-energy or green-power generating facilities have little effect on the atmosphere. That's a good thing. But they do have an enormous impact on the land. And that's something that must be considered and regulated before the county opens the door to that kind of development.