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Group pitches Utah lawmakers on a pipeline to the Great Salt Lake
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level in its recorded history and presents and economic and environmental crisis for the state with reduced snowpack, toxic dust storms and impacts to animals and industry that rely on it. The lake has been shrinking as a result of water diversion, the...
August 29, 2022
Saving the Great Salt Lake is 'top priority,' Utah's new natural resources boss says
has hit a record low and presents a significant environmental and economic crisis for the state with diminished snowpack, toxic dust and impacts to industry and wildlife around the lake. "That’s precisely why I supported him today," said Sen. Derek...
August 26, 2022
'We've got to find answers and then take the action,' Romney says of Great Salt Lake
FARMINGTON BAY, Utah — As the airboats moved through the marshes, hundreds of birds took flight. Senator Mitt Romney marveled at them. "You fly by this area on commercial aircraft and you look down, you see the water but you don’t recognize how many...
August 18, 2022
SLCo Council urges action to save the Great Salt Lake
water diversion, drought and climate change. It presents an environmental catastrophe for Utah with declining snowpack, toxic dust storms and significant impacts to wildlife and Utah's economy. State leaders have rallied around the lake. House Speaker...
August 9, 2022
'Dust Lake City' disaster looming as Utah professor fights to save the Great Salt Lake
a long, dangerous shadow. Now, Owens Lake has water again, and that's what Perry said would be the solution to our toxic dust problem. "I was seriously considering a future name change for Salt Lake City to Dust Lake City because that was the future we...
August 9, 2022
House Speaker Brad Wilson: ‘We are just getting started’ saving the Great Salt Lake
has exposed a thousand square miles of lake bed as it’s dwindling, dropping to its historic low in July. That leads to toxic dust whipped up by winds, exposing Wasatch Front residents to harmful pollution. Its indelible connection to mountain snowpack...
August 2, 2022
Saving the Great Salt Lake could cost billions, House Speaker says
got thousands of square miles of exposed lake bed that are creating real risk for the residents of Utah in terms of toxic dust. The size of the lake is shortening our ski season and making our mountains have less snow. It’s a big concern. We’ve been in...
August 2, 2022
Lawn gone: ‘Localscaping’ may save water, but can it rescue the Great Salt Lake?
the ticking time bomb that is the Great Salt Lake. If it continues to shrivel, the drying lakebed will likely turn into a toxic dust bowl. And if that happens, will people keep building houses here? “I totally agree; maybe I’ll move,” Forsyth said. But...
July 26, 2022
GSL Collaborative puts Gov. Spencer Cox on the record: Utah got 'lacksidasical' about water, but he's still optimistic
growing population, the current “megadrought” gripping the West, and the Great Salt Lake on the verge of turning into a toxic dust bowl, the governor said it’s time for a “paradigm shift” in mindset for both residents and lawmakers. “Getting 3 million...
July 25, 2022
Utah's governor says more must be done to save the Great Salt Lake
crisis with diminished snowpack (which feeds the water supply), impacts to wildlife and increased potential for toxic dust storms to hit heavily populated areas. The lake is shrinking because of many factors including the ongoing drought and climate...
July 20, 2022
See an up-close view of Great Salt Lake’s shrinking shoreline — from Spiral Jetty to the state park marina
Kayakers capture water levels so low in early June that two bays were impossible to navigate as the lake continues to shrivel. People from around the world can now get an up-close view of the Great Salt Lake’s eastern edge. Brian Footen and Rob...
July 19, 2022
'Art is a good teacher': New public exhibit draws attention to the drying Great Salt Lake
as well as projects that have diverted water from its tributaries. Its decline is alarming because more and more toxic dust — containing arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury and selenium — normally contained underneath the lake is becoming exposed every...
July 6, 2022
Spiral Jetty: A barometer for the Great Salt Lake, or a work of art unto itself?
about — the possibility that a dried lake bed would expose chemicals that could hasten snowmelt and be kicked up into toxic dust that would poison the air — was recently given national exposure by an article in The New York Times. As a symbol of the...
June 26, 2022
University of Utah atmospheric scientist Dr. Kevin Perry on Great Salt Lake Dust risks
possible, something Perry says state lawmakers are now taking seriously. But, even as the potential health impacts from toxic dust raise alarms, another urgent tipping point is approaching for the Great Salt Lake, and fast. “As the lake dries up, the...
June 22, 2022
Toxic dust warnings might be our future as the Great Salt Lake shrivels up
Quality said in a statement they analyze their existing air monitor filters to determine if they are picking up any toxic dust. In a statement to KUER, McPherson said they haven’t yet seen this in Utah. “If we did find toxic dust, we would work with our...
June 20, 2022
When Will We Know if it's the Toxic Dust?
Which dust is in the air this spring? Is it the toxic dust from the Great Salt Lake yet? How will we know? Ali asks Logan Mitchell, a climate scientist who is very good at explaining things. Listen to the 14 minute episode here.
June 9, 2022
Utah lawmakers consider a pipeline from the Pacific Ocean to the Great Salt Lake
diversion, development, drought and climate change. A dried-up lake presents a massive environmental crisis for Utah with toxic dust storms (there is arsenic in the lake bed), a lack ofsnowpack and billions of dollars in lost economic impact to the...
May 17, 2022
How much air pollution is already happening?
Question by Barbara Larson, Washington, Utah Increased air pollution as the lake bed dries is a top concern among people who have responded to the Great Salt Lake Collaborative’s audience survey. And it’s a subject of ongoing study by the University of...
April 28, 2022
Utah political leaders pressured to move quickly to save Great Salt Lake
a looming environmental and economic catastrophe. There's reduced economic benefit from the lake itself, the threat of toxic dust storms in populated areas of the state, a reduced snowpack that impacts the area's climate and causes harm to the lucrative...
April 28, 2022
A century of human activity is coming back as toxic dust as the Great Salt Lake shrinks
as it's moving through communities. It can change composition before it's deposited in the mountains. PM: Why is more toxic dust being released now? MB: The longer that the lakebed is exposed, the more time the protective crust has to weather down and...
April 27, 2022
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