Great Salt Lake & Shrimping
The Great Salt Lake faces the threat of becoming the next Dead Sea -- nonexistent! Ok, perhaps that was a bit too dramatic but it is undeniable how much the Dead Sea has changed due to infrastructure changes humans have done in order to obtain more water.
And right now the Great Salt Lake is facing the same dilemma with the Bear River plan. The Bear River feeds into the Great Salt Lake and proponents seek to use some of its unused water to supply water for Salt Lake City. Opponents of the plan cite that farmland conversion will be enough to meet the city's water needs for the times to come, but officials disagree. The other non-human (sort of) consideration is that the lake will be reduced by ~1 ft which will expose 30 square miles of lakebed.
The most glaring implication in the river plan is the change in the lake, i.e its salinity will change too much and prevent shrimping from being as effective anymore. For consideration, the area brings in about $1.3 billion yearly from shrimping and tourist activities.
- Are humans destined to screw themselves over the longer we live away from shores? Would it be morally wrong to stop people from continuing to populate these areas a few millennia down the line (if the current environmental trends continue)?
- Suppose the doom and gloom did play out if the plan continued, will this make a significant impact on the shrimping industry?
Feel free to share any other thoughts.
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