9 min listen
What we lose if the Great Salt Lake dries up
FromShort Wave
ratings:
Length:
13 minutes
Released:
Mar 21, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Dotted across the Great Basin of the American West are salty, smelly lakes. The largest of these, by far, is the Great Salt Lake in Utah.But a recent report found that water diversions for farming, climate change and population growth could mean the lake essentially disappears within five years. Less water going in means higher concentrations of salt and minerals, which threatens the crucial ecological role saline lakes play across the West, as well as the health of the people who live nearby. On today's episode, Kirk takes Short Wave co-host Aaron Scott on an audio field trip to the endangered Great Salt Lake, and explains why losing the lake could be devastating for everyone from brine flies to the humans that live next door.
Released:
Mar 21, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
An Eyewitness to Extinction: When Karen Lips started studying frogs in Central America as a grad student, she had no idea she'd have a front-row seat to a catastrophic animal die-off. by Short Wave