Population, climate change and GSL
Great Salt Lake made national news yet again. An NPR piece looked at Utah’s toxic relationship between development, population growth, and environmental policy. A combination of climate denial and prioritizing development has gotten us into an environmental and public health nightmare with Great Salt Lake.
Dr. Moench was quoted in the NPR piece, warning of just how hazardous dust from Great Salt Lake is to residents’ health “A lot of people think that dust is pretty benign because it’s quote — natural. Well that’s not the case, and in the case of dust from the Great Salt Lake, it is particularly toxic, because we know that it is laced with high concentrations of heavy metals.”
Even with the increasingly hazardous public health threat, Utah is encouraging increased development along the Wasatch Front.
Great Salt Lake needs immediate, measurable and drastic water conservation policy updates this session from the Utah legislature. Lawmakers insist they are listening, but whether or not they grasp the severity will be proven this session.
As Steve Trimble wrote in his recent op-ed, published in the LA Times, “Because Utah manages its own water, it is finally up to the state Legislature to save the lake. We can’t legislate weather or climate. But we can pass mandates and incentives to reduce water use, especially by agriculture, which accounts for two-thirds of diversions in the Great Salt Lake watershed…The Utah Legislature began its 2023 session on Jan. 17. Its members have 45 days until the end of the session on March 3 to take action to save the Great Salt Lake from collapse. Scientists say waiting another year will be too late for the lake to recover.”