Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at Royal Ontario Museum / Assistant Professor at University of Toronto / Limnologist
Last week we published the work of my ex masters student Melissa Cobo finding that the desiccation of Great Salt Lake, a process driven by human consumptive water uses, is likely contributing to a net increase of over 4 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (considering CO2 and methane) to the atmosphere, as of 2020, the year of our study. It's been great seeing the press coverage of this work, and discussions around it. To add my own perspective on it - as someone whose research focuses on carbon cycling in aquatic systems, this was an interesting facet of the lake's desiccation to investigate, and it adds one more layer to the prior work on the lake that showcases the negative impacts of desiccation on air quality, bird habitat, etc. As someone in a climate change communications role, I feel this research also underlines the co-benefits of addressing climate, environmental, and social issues. In other words, being mindful of how we interact with our waters, land, and air, and aligning ourselves to do so sustainably, can have an all-encompassing positive impact with local and global repercussions. In this case, ensuring water flow to Great Salt Lake and replenishing its levels should not only improve the health of Utahns, but also the health of local wildlife, while reducing their societal carbon footprint. It's a win-win-win.