A former Shadow Ridge teacher is part of the effort.

Retired school teacher Pat Weidknecht hunched over in the sun, plucking small bits of old bone from a rocky patch of desert at the valley's northwestern edge.

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State officials pulled the plug on some recycling programs in a move they believe will save money.

The refrigerator recycling programs were on the chopping block, but survived with a funding decrease. NV Energy used ratepayer money to give owners of old refrigerators a $50 rebate to recycle their units. NV Energy is still deciding how these cuts will impact refrigerator rebate programs. State officials eliminated subsidy and rebate programs for people buying energy efficient light bulbs.

The Public Utilities Commission says NV Energy must prove these programs are cost-effective and not a waste of ratepayer's money.

NV Energy is giving the City of North Las Vegas thousands of dollars in grants because of the efforts it made to use solar power in its new city hall.

The utility gave the city more than $149,000 for using solar panels in the building. The money is from the SolarGenerations incentives program which rewards projects that use renewable resources for energy. 

The city also used more than $600,000 in grants from the federal government to buy the solar power panels. The panels will be used to generate about 12.5 percent of the total energy used in the new building. The city expects to save $250,000 a year by using solar power.

The city plans to move into the new city hall in December. The new building will bring all of the city departments under one roof. It also has an expanded city council chambers and is wired to broadcast the council meetings over the internet or on cable television.