And the consequences for the ecosystem surrounding the lake, including the human ecosystem, could be dire.
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00:00This is the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
00:07Scientists say that as climate change continues, it could all dry up.
00:10But not in 50 or 100 years or sometime in the distant future.
00:13A new report indicates if something isn't done immediately, right now, pronto, the lake
00:18for which the state's biggest city gets its name could disappear in five years.
00:23Over the last couple of years, the massive salt lake has lost a million acre feet of
00:26water every year.
00:27An acre foot being an acre of land covered by one foot of water.
00:30The Great Salt Lake isn't just water, though.
00:32It's a massive ecosystem of fish, birds, and other wildlife around the lake that rely on
00:37it.
00:38Meaning as the lake dries up, experts say many will be added to the endangered species
00:41list.
00:42But there's another danger of drying lake beds.
00:44At the bottom of the lake lies embedded arsenic, mercury, lead, and cyanotoxins.
00:48And when the lake dries, winds can pick up and aerosolize those contaminants, leading
00:53to health issues for anyone nearby.
00:55So how do we save this integral source of water for the region?
00:57Well, experts say the region needs to use it less.
01:00Water consumption needs to be cut by up to half.
01:02And humans need to come up with a way to bring at least 2.5 million acre feet of water back
01:07to the once great salt lake.