What will it take to save the world’s lakes?

On Wednesday, April 5 at 19:30 GMT:
The clock is ticking to prevent some of the world’s largest saltwater lakes from disappearing and the ensuing environmental and public health disasters.

In an urgent call to action, scientists and conservationists from Brigham Young University warn that Great Salt Lake in Utah could disappear within five years without sufficient emergency action being taken. Overuse of the river water that feeds the lake by local homes, farms and industries is the main cause, with climate change increasing the evaporation of the decreasing lake water.

Great Salt Lake is just one of many saltwater lakes around the world that are shrinking. The level of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley drops by about 4 feet every year, exposing salt deposits and causing sinkholes along the receding shoreline. Lake Urmia in Iran could dry out completelywith its rapid recession since the mid-1990s spurred by the diversion of river water, reduced rainfall and rising temperatures due to climate change.

The largest lake in the world is also at risk. Researchers say the Caspian Sea could lose 25% percent of its former size by 2100 – exposing dry land equal to Portugal’s area. They are urging coordinated global action to tackle climate change that is driving water evaporation.

The rapid shrinkage of salt lakes has major implications for communities and wildlife. As the Great Salt Lake erodes, the shrimp and fly ecosystem will collapse, endangering a precious food source for millions of migratory and nesting birds. Arsenic, mercury and lead in the lake’s dry bottom are already whipped up by the wind and carried to the residents of Salt Lake City, Utah’s most populous region.

In this episode of The Stream, we investigate emergencies at some of the world’s largest lakes and ask what urgent action is needed to save them.

In this episode of The Stream we are joined by:
Ali Mirchi, @MirchiAli1
Assistant Professor, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Oklahoma State University
experts.okstate.edu/amirchi

Carly Bidul
Coordinator, Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College
westminstercollege.edu

Jael Kiro
Assistant Professor, Weizmann Institute of Science
weizmann.ac.il/EPS/Kiro/home