UT Farmer Watches Great Salt Lake Recede, Unleashing Toxic Dust, But He's Voting For Trump, Because Family Values

Salt Lake City (United States) (AFP) – From his ranch on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, Joel Ferry has a front row view of climate change: a native of Utah, the Republican farmer has seen the water's surface area shrink by two-thirds in the past 40 years. And as director of the western US state's natural resources department, he knows that the drying up of the lake is an "environmental nuclear bomb," threatening the existence of Salt Lake City and the homes of two million people living on its shores.

Still, he will vote without hesitation for Donald Trump this November, despite the Republican presidential candidate's outspoken skepticism on climate change. Ferry praises the former president's "good economic results," and as a Mormon says he is grateful because Trump has "been very strong on family value issues," including packing the US Supreme Court with conservative judges who overturned abortion rights.

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If the lake disappears, "it would be like 'Mad Max,' where water is completely gone and we just have to abandon the city," said the biologist, referring to the dystopian Hollywood movie franchise. This is because the lake bed, which contains arsenic and toxic heavy metals, would become more exposed to the open air, and contaminate the atmosphere during dust storms.

Ferry said the looming threat sparked a "rallying cry" among local Republicans. Financial incentives for farmers to reduce water consumption; exploring technology that optimizes irrigation, and seeds clouds to increase rainfall; splitting the lake into two to limit its salinity: "over a billion dollars" has been invested in the past three years, he said. Even the Mormon Church has set an example, substantially cutting its water use. Utah is "a great example where you have a very red and conservative state making decisions that are very environmentally driven," said Ferry. Nationally, "the environment should be a key priority of the Republicans as well."

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Ed. - Whatever, you stupid asshole.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241007-as-great-salt-lake-dries-utah-republicans-pardon-trump-climate-skepticism