There’s no sugarcoating it: The Great Salt Lake is dying. In fact, the obituary has already been written, and according to the people studying the problem, we may only have a matter of months before the fate of the lake and all that it supports is sealed for good.
Contrary to what some people may think, the Great Salt Lake is more than a stinky, bug-infested, hydrological dead-end. It supports close to two billion dollars in economic activity, serves as a crucial migratory stop for 10 million birds a year, and if catch it in the right mood at the right place, says the molecular biologist Bonnie Baxter, it’s just plain beautiful. Baxter has studied the lake for 25 years, and she joins us on the show this week at noon to lay out why we should value the Great Salt Lake and why we should act to save it before it’s too late.
GUESTS:
-Karen Piper: Professor of English at the University of Missouri
-Lindsay Whitehurst: Reporter for the Associated Press
-Bonnie Baxter: Professor of Biology at Westminster College, Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute