It boggles the mind.

Today I happened upon two news stories that show that the West’s money-fueled Growth Machine relentlessly will churn on—with or without a lick of water or, it seems, common sense.

1. Clark County, Nevada’s zoning commission last week approved a proposal to construct a 429-home development on private land adjacent to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area west of Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. If ultimately built—more hurdles still await—the development would cover about 671 acres of open space that is currently the site of a gypsum mine. It also would be a classic case of leapfrog development: Since it sits about four miles outside the existing urban boundary, extending utilities and services to the development will facilitate development on the intervening private lands.