man: i am paiute. i am proud of who i am, and i'm proud of all of you to be here. thank you very much. raborn: they brought home their message through a 50-mile walk from the moapa reservation to las vegas that took 3 days. the tribe ultimately succeeded, convincing the public, convincing the utility that owned the plant that it was time for them to close the plant after over 50 years. [explosion] reid: and so i started looking at that power plant--exacerbated heart conditions and everything else. so i made up my mind i was gonna get rid of coal in nevada. i read in the paper that they were going to open 4 new coal-fired generating plants i nevada. i called mary, i called

my vegas operation. i said, "i'm not gonna let that happen." and what i did, i called a hedge fund. i told the guy, "look, you back away from that coal plant, or i will get even with you. i don't know what i'm gonna do, but i'll figure something out." [phone dial tone] biden: every time i hear a dial tone, i'll think of harry. [laughter] chisholmit's a little bit of a joke in vada around, you know, the harry reid phone call. "i want to see the grazing rights bought out of great basin national park." and he hangs up. "i want to plant some joshua trees. where do i find 'em?" and he hangs up. pelosi: harry? [dial tone] christensen: by this time, people knew that they would write harry reid off at their own peril. he knew how to get things done, and they could either get on board or be left behind. baca: while senator reid was working to kill coal plants, at

the same time, the nevada state legislature was actually making its own ves towards ending coal power. atkinson: expand renewable energy, retirent of coal plants. all those in favor, say "aye." all: aye. baca: senate bill 123 was passed. it bically ended coal power in nevada, and it mandated that there would be no more power plants and that the existing power plants had to be sunsetted. atkinson: ok, we are adjourned. raborn: right around that same time was, you know, the recession. woman: the stock market is now down 21%. man: 'cause we're now down 43%. man: the dow traders are standing there watching in amazement, and i don't blame 'em. raborn: in d.c., senator and his leadership staff and congress worked to pass the american reinvestment and recovery act. reid: what we're trying to do is stop a depression. that's why president obama says that this bill is so important to the american people. it's not only

important for the short rm to create millions of jobs, but it'll also do things for the long-term, like start doing something about our energy grid. if we can produce renewable energy and take it someplace, it creates thousands of jobs in nevada, and that's what this legislation is all about. raborn: there was $6 billion in that act specifically for renewable energy development and transmission line development. anderson: the staff quickly put together the plan that would lead to development of transmission in nevada that would connect the northern and southern grids in the state for the first time electrically. baca: an interesting element of this transition from coal power green energy sources is some of the social justice component that you see at play with the moapa band of paiute who saw the end of this power plant that had been making their community ill, and they transitied and really beca rt of the green energy

movement by building their own solar power plant. reid: this power plant in moapa is really the first solar project to be built on tribal lands, certainly in nevada and likely in the whole country. lee: senator reid, in our opinion, was for us. the actual actions that he took, i'm not sure about, but i know there was influence there 'cause he's a very powerful person and he was a friend to us. [busy signal] [dialing] christensen: so behind the scenes, reid is helping to set up this architecture for a transition to renewable energy. he's talking to the companies that want to build new coal power plants in nevada, and he's saying "no way, but i will let you build a transmission line." he's calling up the mayor of los angeles, and he's persuading him to agree to buy power from the moapa solar facility. [phone ringing] reid: so i called the mayor of

l.a., and i said, "i know you're trying to go to a renewable energy. i can get you 600, 700 megawatts within a period of time. in a year, we'll build a facility. can you use it?" he said, "you bet." the indians sold their power to loangeles, and now they've added to it and done more. lee: the moapa solar, it's sitting on 2,200 acres--photovoltaic. it's a fixed system, as opposed to single axis, which tracks the sun one way or a double axis which tracks it both directions. christensen: each of these pieces adds up to a dramatic transformation of the energy system in nevada and the american west. baca: it's an interesting example ofow you can have the just transion. lee: a just transition means that as we transition from

one form of energy to another, from fossil fuels to renewable, as we transition our economy, that we also address historical injustices, like the injustices to the moapa tribe. the main thing is it gives us the means, financial means to grow. we got guaranteed income, and it's not based on crops or the weather or floods or nothing. this is based on that the sun's gonna shine, you're gonna get electric out of it. the credit rating for the tribe went up, and the fact that we did this industrial scale solar, it kind of put us in a different kind of a club. simmons: we led the way. we were breaking the ground for solar, especially for indian tribes. and of course we're really proud of that. and it's changed the lives of many, because once you work on a solar plan you know, you can make enough money to change your whole life. so i think we were able to do

that for the younger people. we created a name for moapa, and wherever we go we're known for that. christensen: in the obama administration, reid is at the height of his powers as the leader of the democratic senate caucus. he's the most powerful democratic politician, aside from obama, but he's still fighting a battle that has dogged his whole career, and that's the push to bury high-level nuclear waste at yucca mountain that began with the screw nevada bill in 1987. anderson: nuclear waste policy act passed in 1982, the same year that reid was elected to the house. basically, it laid out a process by which the u.s. government would look at a variety of for gh-leveluclear waste.ories man: that did not occur, and it did not occur because politics,

not science dictated the conclusion. man: senators voting in the affirmative... anderson: growing weary of actually doing that scientific process in 1987, t congress, in its wisdom, decided that it would rewrite that bill and choose yucca as the preferred alternative. chisholm: yucca mountain was a site that was identified because it was within what was called the nevada test se, which is where the federal government's early atomic testing occurred. man: ...2... 1! [explosion] baca: it felt like it was coming back to that old narrative. nevada was a wasteland that nobody needed to care about what they were putting here. woman: now y may be wondering why yucca mountain is being considered a suitable site to dump nuclear waste. anderson: that was not a scientific process. that was tom foley representing the state of washington, taking care of hanford. that was jim wright representing the state of texas, taking care of deaf smith

county, texas, and senator reid being a frhman. man: the "yea"s are 61, the "nay"s are 2 and the conference port is agreed to. reid: i think it's important to recognize that nuclear waste is not a partisan issue. chisholm: republicans, democrats, ranchers, miners, urban people, outdoor people--everybody knew that this was... reid: the screw nevada bill. woman: the screw nevada bill. man: the screw nevadbill. anderson: it wasn't chosen on the merits. it was chosen for pure political reasons. man: who has only 2 senators, no political clout whatsoever, and who lives in a place that is perceived at least to be nothing but desert and wasteland? d they said, "a-ha! nevada." man: we in nevada will not stand for it. [applause] man: a coalition of elected officials, environmentalists, and businessmen is waging a guerrilla war to kill a project they believe has been shoved down their throats. reid: the repulsive and mendacious political

backstabbing represented by the deal cut against the people of nevada should bring a blush of shame to the face of every suppted this nuclear waste legislation. well, frankly, i was a new senator, and i thought we were doomed. i didn't know what to do about it. [explosion] man: workers drilled and blasted a starter tunnel. reid: the biggest opening we got was bill clinton. al gore, to his credit. they knew what a big deal this was in nevada, so they came out publicly opposed to yucca mountain. that was one reason we were able to stall it as long as we did. raborn: as senator reid gained more and more leadership in the senate, he was also able to use that power to put a stranglehold on the appropriations process and starve the proje of funding. reid: i used my seat on the appropriations committee to help cut $30 million from the waste

site budget. i urge the president to veto legislation that would put a temporary dump at the nevada test site. i won't quit until my colleagues understand that transporting nuclear waste to nevada is dangerous. and we don't want a nuclear waste dump in our backyard. [children laughing] anderson: the nuclear industry has spent 4 decades underestimating senator reid and his ability to fight back. instead, they picked a fight with the wrong guy. man: the senator from nevada. reid: unsupportable. mikulski: the senator from nevada. reid: totally unsupportable. we have the nevada test site, nellis air force base, fallon air naval station, hawthorne ammunition depot. we have done our share. it's not compatible with tourism, which is our mber-one industry. people are afraid of it, based upon chernobyl, based upon the experience of the people in st. george, where they have the highest cancer rate in the world, literally. we don't want it if it's 1,700 feet underground or 10,000 feet underground. when nevada was first mentioned

as a possible mp site for nuclear waste, i said, "no way." my goal is to deliver these signed petitions to the president and impress upon him that nevadans don't want a nuclear dump in their backyard. man: joining me now live is u.s. senator harry reid. what's your strongest argument to keeping nuclear waste out of nevada? reid: how are you gonna get it here? we had 400,000 truck accidents last year. 14,000 of those dealt with hazardous materials. we had 2,100 train wrecks last year. over 1,000 of those dealt with hazardous materials. this is an accident waiting to happen. man: and they say most americans will join the opposition once they see the web of highways and railroads for transporting the waste from 131 sites in 45 states. chisholm: in order to mo the radioaive waste to yucca mountain for long-term storage, one of the proposed approaches was to move it by rail car,

particularly through an area called garden valley... at the heart of one of the remotest parts of the great basin. baca: it would have permanently altered that landscape. you have these beautiful mountain ranges that encircle this massive basin that was once a giant inland sea. it really takes you back in time. it shows you some of the most essential parts of nevada. reid: part of that wonderful place is a man who's a famous, famous, world-famous artist.

name is heizer--michael heizer. anderson: who is michael heizer? um... charles kuralt: michael heizer is a modern sculptor. instead of a chisel, michael heizer usually uses dynamite and bulldozers to create his art. reid: he worked for 40 years building this monument in the middle of nowhere. kuralt: in the nevada desert, hours from any big town, he has created massive pieces of sculpture from concrete and steel and granite and compacted earth. anderson: he's a scientist, he's an artist, he's an engineer--all in the sort of pursuit of building this thing that i'm not gonna describe, 'cause i can't. baca: "city," created by michael heizer, is a place that... the...just... chisholm: "city" is... it's hard to describe it until you walk it.

reid: it is a mile and a half long. it represents all these great artistic things that have taken place over the centuries. i first heard about this project out in the middle of nowhere. and i thought, "who cares?" but all you had to do was go look at it, and you know why people would care about it. first of all, to meet him is to meet a true iconic american. there's nobody like him. heizer: you got my rock in the...? obviously, there's a lot of acreage in this part of the world that isn't developed. so there's a lot of potential, lot of agencies and opportunistic people see all this backcountry and want to exploit it. a highway from arizona through here. the mx missile silo truck, agricultural things cause these water companies. it's just endless.

i think he ended up liking it. i think he did. yeah, i'm pretty sure he did. i think after he sat out for a while, he liked it. reid: michael heizer was truly a nevadan, and i did everything i could to help with that project of his. i was bound and determined to preserve that city, that area. anderson: senator reid and his team were thinking through how to protect the landscape scale artwork by michael heizer in a fashion that was appropriate for the scope and scale of the project. christensen: it's not lost on him and his staff that where "city" is located is also the location through which the energy department wanted to run a railroad to bring high-level nuclear waste to yucca mountain. anderson: senator reid set about trying to have the president of the united states

use his authority under the antiquities act, an act which dates back to 1906, to protect the special resources in that placthrough executive proclamation. baca: the antiquities act gave presidents the authority through executive order to create national monuments. christensen: national monuments have protected a wide variety of special places--from buildings to battlefield graveyards to mount rushmore. raborn: president obama was in the white house. senator reid was very close to him. and senator reid cared deeply abou the potential ability to make sure that that area was preserved in perpetuity. that was a moment in time that needed to be seized. reid: i was with president obama on an airplane. said, "mr. president, there's this thing in nevada." he said, "describe it." "i can't explain to you what it is."

try to describe this to somebody. and i said, "mr. president, i really would like you to do an executive order creating a national monument." anderson: some people would say, "well, that short-circuited the system." i don't think it really did. i think that folks worked through the system best they could, came to an impasse, and choreographed a path forward that was a different one than using the legislative process. reid: it stops that land forever being spoiled. there'll be no railroads going through that land. right now, all the drilling equipment they had up there, it has now been ground up for junk steel. there's nothing there now. they would have to start all over again. we don't have nuclear waste, and i don't see it in the future.

baca: his career was bookended by protecting great basin national park and basin and range. he's covered the mountains. now he's covered the basin and the ranges. chisholm: we have 70 wilderness areas because of him. we have 2 large national monuments because of him. he's also demonstrated the way to work through tough land use issues around wilderness, around national parks, national monuments. and the model that he pioneered can be used around the country. nevada's profoundly changed in the time from when he started to when he left. and he's really helped bring us along from that old west into the new west, and he's left us with a very different legacy. christensen: the old west is defined by the legacy of conquest and the dominance of

the region by extractive industries--mining, logging, ranching, and irrigated farming. the new west is defined by the demographic changes that come with the rapid expansion of urban areas, the rise of the service economy, and the rise of people caring about the environment and about the amenities they enjoy from the outdoors. he saw the changes that were coming to the west. he rode those changes throughout his career. he was an agent of those changes. baca: our new west--it's a different place.here probably are a lot of mixed feelings, honestly, for some people, about that new west versus the old west. there are some people who probably would love to go back to that untrammeled feeling of the old west. schank: his legacy is not very well looked at

by most of the people in ruralevada. in order to appreciate rural nevada, you have to understand that it is part of the complete nevada. and so i think that that's a very, very important component that many, many politicians do not really look at. christensen: harry reid was also a complicated character. environmentalis sometis found themsees at odds with him because he sportedining and he supported las vegas getting thwater it needed to grow. and this complexity enabled him to see the kind of pragmatic solutions that eluded purists and ideologues. baca: the competing interests, the stakeholders with different needs and perspectives will always remain. and we're always going to need somebody like a senator reid to come in and help

negotiate through those competing interests. chisholm: this was about the politics of the possible. harry reid has pointed to a model of how work can get done, not just in nevada, but i also think nationally. you need to think pragmatically, but you also need to be willing to make deals. lopez: the legislation that a republican and democratic senate duo were able to accomplish together i think could be a template for the whole nation to look at and understand that working together pays huge dividends for your constituents, and they all appreciate it. no matter republicans, democrats, independents--your constituents will appreciate the fact if you can deliver on quality-of-life promises. johnson: i'm not shy in saying politician ever in history.r

baca: problem is, especially right now, there's this sort of zero sum gain, where no one's willing to give anything. part of what senator reid brought to the dialogue is that you can have 100% of nothing if you're not willing to give something away. christensen: he showed that bipartisan compromises can work to protect millions of acres of wilderness. he saw the tremendous potential of renewable energy in the nevada desert. he saw conflicts that had raged on the truckee river for a century. he showed how development could be balanced with protection of the environment in public lands. he's also provided people in a major metropolitan area access to those public lands. i've asked harry reid many times if there was a grand vision that he had that stemmed from his love of paiute springs and

animated, really, his whole career. reid: no. i just did onehing at a time. never looked at any grand vision of anything. christensen: but i think when we look back, it sure looks like there was some kind of vision there, and i think there is a vision there for a new kind of pragmatic environmental politics for nevada, for the american west, and for the whole country.

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