If the Great Salt Lake, which has already shrunk by two-thirds, continues to dry up, here\u2019s what\u2019s in store:<\/p>\n
The lake\u2019s flies and brine shrimp would die off \u2014 scientists warn it could start as soon as this summer \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s population.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have this potential environmental nuclear bomb that\u2019s going to go off if we don\u2019t take some pretty dramatic action,\u201d said Joel Ferry, a Republican state lawmaker and rancher who lives on the north side of the lake.<\/p>\n
As climate change continues to cause record-breaking drought, there are no easy solutions. <\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Quite the sobering story. Especially the third graf. 😳 pic.twitter.com\/83x2GCoVXi<\/a><\/p>\n — James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) June 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n