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Original painting on raw canvas with clear gesso base, 35×39. This painting is #19 in the 26 Endangered Ecosystems series that will exhibit in early 2027. Pre-order the painting now to reserve it ahead of exhibition and it will ship to you for free in 2027. Email alissasyverson@gmail.com for any questions.
Context: The Great Salt Lake in Utah is the largest wetland ecosystem in the US West, is the largest salt lake in the whole western Hemisphere, and it is home to 12 million birds. I also learned that part of the lake can appear pink due to the presence of pink-pigmented microorganisms called halophiles.
The biggest threat to the Great Salt Lake ecosystem is decreasing water levels from the diversion of freshwater inputs for agriculture and other human uses. Those water levels are even lower because climate change is causing less water to flow into the lake and more of its water to evaporate due to hotter temperatures. The lake has already lost 60% of its surface area. So the drying of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem and its increasingly salty waters now threaten the health and survival of hundreds of bird species.
I also was shocked to learn that lower lake levels are exposing toxic dust from the lakebed, threatening the health of wildlife and human populations around it. The Great Salt Lake has a lot of inflow, but it does not have any outflow. Absent of any outflow, its lake bed has absorbed decades’ worth of industrial waste, pesticides, and heavy metals that occur naturally in Utah’s soil. As water is diverted from the lake – largely for agricultural use and mineral extraction – dried particles blow across the Wasatch Front, exposing millions to toxic, irritating dust.
Without intervention, Great Salt Lake is on track to become one of the largest dust emission sources in North America, and this toxic dust is already getting into the air and also into food sources.
One of many organizations working on these issues is Save Our Great Salt Lake, you can donate to them at saveourgreatsaltlake.org
Original painting on raw canvas with clear gesso base, 35×39. This painting is #19 in the 26 Endangered Ecosystems series that will exhibit in early 2027. Pre-order the painting now to reserve it ahead of exhibition and it will ship to you for free in 2027. Email alissasyverson@gmail.com for any questions.
Context: The Great Salt Lake in Utah is the largest wetland ecosystem in the US West, is the largest salt lake in the whole western Hemisphere, and it is home to 12 million birds. I also learned that part of the lake can appear pink due to the presence of pink-pigmented microorganisms called halophiles.
The biggest threat to the Great Salt Lake ecosystem is decreasing water levels from the diversion of freshwater inputs for agriculture and other human uses. Those water levels are even lower because climate change is causing less water to flow into the lake and more of its water to evaporate due to hotter temperatures. The lake has already lost 60% of its surface area. So the drying of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem and its increasingly salty waters now threaten the health and survival of hundreds of bird species.
I also was shocked to learn that lower lake levels are exposing toxic dust from the lakebed, threatening the health of wildlife and human populations around it. The Great Salt Lake has a lot of inflow, but it does not have any outflow. Absent of any outflow, its lake bed has absorbed decades’ worth of industrial waste, pesticides, and heavy metals that occur naturally in Utah’s soil. As water is diverted from the lake – largely for agricultural use and mineral extraction – dried particles blow across the Wasatch Front, exposing millions to toxic, irritating dust.
Without intervention, Great Salt Lake is on track to become one of the largest dust emission sources in North America, and this toxic dust is already getting into the air and also into food sources.
One of many organizations working on these issues is Save Our Great Salt Lake, you can donate to them at saveourgreatsaltlake.org