If you have ever taken the five and a half-hour drive (four if I am driving) to Sin City, then you've also enjoyed the sight of nothing in northern Arizona.
All the way up to the Hoover Dam, there is nothing to look at for what seems like forever. But this is likely to change if a developer has his way and starts to build one of the biggest communities known to man.
Well, it is not quite as big as say, Los Angeles, but if developer Jim Rhodes has his way, it could mean another 400,000 people would be moving to the northern part of our desert.
Yes, people, I said desert. In the world we live in, with our big trees on campus and rich grassy golf courses, it is sometimes hard to remember that we actually live in a desert.
We also live in an area that has had an adequate water source for at least 100 years. According to a report in Sunday's Arizona Republic, four out of five of Rhodes' planned communities were approved without any assessment of adequate water supply.
And he doesn't need them, either. Unlike Maricopa and Pima counties, the county of Mohave doesn't require new builders to verify the levels of water for new developments, and the developers are not required to tell prospective homeowners if there is a problem.
A perusal of Title 45, article 108, "Evaluation of subdivision water supply" does state that the developer "may" inform the real estate commissioner of any water inadequacies, but gives no direction for the advancement of that information to potential homebuyers.
So, you could live there for a bit, and then sell it before the water runs out - mighty neighborly.
This is tricky territory here. We are all in this state because of various reasons- good weather, good golf, beautiful scenery, plenty of outdoor and indoor activities, and once again, good weather. So when it comes to the number of people we want to let in, where do we draw the line?
Is it right or fair to say to others looking for those same amenities, "Sorry, we're closed?" In the case of protecting the environment and our rights to the Colorado River: yes.
Not only is it fair to say, "we were here first," but it is our moral obligation to protect what we have.
We've gone over 100 days without rain. Resources are becoming scarce, people are nearing overabundance, and while our world may support our generation and the next, it is our grandchildren who will suffer if this is allowed to continue.
Jim Rhodes' big plan is to create a "bedroom" community for the workers of Las Vegas, who won't mind a commute of an hour or more into work every day.
The short term effects of this mean longer car rides to Vegas- which could be interpreted as more time for those pesky elopers to cool their heels and give their families the wedding fiasco they deserve.
The long term effects: not only will workers who live in this development have to drive a longer way, but their gas-guzzling, emissions-expelling cars will further damage the already troubled environment.
I say, yuck. What happens in Vegas should stay in Vegas, and that includes those who work in it.
Angi Leighton is a psychology senior. She can be reached at the one-armed bandit slinging nickels, or at angela.leighton@asu.edu.