Great Salt Lake Environmental issue (Salt Lake City: house, schools, agriculture)

[Vision67]

As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces An ‘Environmental Nuclear Bomb’

Climate change and rapid population growth are shrinking the lake, creating a bowl of toxic dust that could poison the air around Salt Lake City.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/c...-disaster.html

"SALT LAKE CITY — If the Great Salt Lake, which has already shrunk by two-thirds, continues to dry up, here’s what’s in store:

The lake’s flies and brine shrimp would die off — scientists warn it could start as soon as this summer — threatening the 10 million migratory birds that stop at the lake annually to feed on the tiny creatures. Ski conditions at the resorts above Salt Lake City, a vital source of revenue, would deteriorate. The lucrative extraction of magnesium and other minerals from the lake could stop.

Most alarming, the air surrounding Salt Lake City would occasionally turn poisonous. The lake bed contains high levels of arsenic and as more of it becomes exposed, wind storms carry that arsenic into the lungs of nearby residents, who make up three-quarters of Utah’s population."

[kletter1mann]

I saw this too and my inbox is full from mssgs from shocked friends. And the article didn't even get into the issue of agricultural water use. ~82% of Utah's water is used for agriculture, much of which is shipped to China, Japan and the middle east in the form of hay having a value of only ~$184mio. But we can't touch the sacred farmers, can we?

As Spock used to say, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." We Utards turn that on it's head. Yet nobody cares enough to do anything serious, out state govt least of all. And there's still support for the Lake Powell pipeline to St George. Could anything be more insane? Maybe some hand-wringing but the grass is green and water is cheapest in the west. It's only a matter of time before companies wake up to the reality that Utah isn't a sustainable place to invest. I greatly doubt I'll be here in 4 years, hopefully ahead of the inevitable collapse. Hope we don't get The Big One in the meantime. Good luck, folks. It was fun while it lasted.

[kletter1mann]

Stylistically I found this way too weepy and hand-wringing for my taste. Still, I do wonder at the general public's apparent complacency. But whatever. My house is sold so I beat the rush. I can't help but do feel bad for the hopeful young people that bought it as they discover what they've bought into. Should they sell in 10 years when the exodus is in full swing, I suspect they'll discover that they bought at the top of market.



https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/o...te-change.html

[kavm]

It doesn't matter. Some of the brilliant ideas Utah legislature considered to really innovatively address the problem -

• SB119 will calculate the water state residents actually consume per capita. This will completely rewrite the fact that Utah is one of the most wasteful water users in the nation! That ought to fix the problem right there - without a drop of additional water for the GSL!
• A special license plate for the Great Salt Lake! A game changer. Ought to double the water in GSL without much delay.
• Golf courses might have to publish their water use. In the rest of the news, Tiger Woods led development of new golf course in the Summit county.
• Helping schools conserve. Not a bad idea. Impact on the GSL water level would be staggering. It might spill over the banks!

Why try to solve a problem when you can throw dust in their eyes so they can't see it? That's the motto of our legislature!

[recycled]

Is there any lithium in the GSL basin? The Salton Sea basin in California was deemed worthless and toxic due to agricultural runoff and falling lake levels, but suddenly some giant lithium mining operations started up. Of course they didn't announce until after they had bought the worthless and toxic land for a bargain.

[moguldreamer]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

Stylistically I found this way too weepy and hand-wringing for my taste. Still, I do wonder at the general public's apparent complacency. But whatever. My house is sold so I beat the rush. I can't help but do feel bad for the hopeful young people that bought it as they discover what they've bought into. Should they sell in 10 years when the exodus is in full swing, I suspect they'll discover that they bought at the top of market.



https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/o...te-change.html

Paywall.

[kavm]

Try https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/comme...williams-i-am/

The writer is Terry Tempest Williams - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Tempest_Williams