At its peak in the 1980s, Utah’s Great Salt Lake in the US covered about 8,550 sq km (3,300 sq miles). In recent measurements, it has lost nearly half of its surface area from the historical average, according to the British newspaper The Guardian. After a 22-year megadrought that has gripped the south-west of the US, the decrease in water levels has left about 1,990 sq km of lakebed exposed. The lake has now reached its lowest water level ever recorded. This is really bad news for the state of Utah, since the demand for the lake’s water will only increase in the future. Currently home to about 3.3 million people, it is projected that the population will increase by 66% by 2060, making it the fastest growing state in the US. This is of course the result of a global crisis, not a local one. Nevertheless this climate warning goes to Spencer Cox, governor of Utah. Why? Because he keeps supporting new oil and gas leases slated to be offered on federal public lands. Such decisions will not not make this lake great again. Learn more and see satellite images of the lake now and then. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/02/satellite-images-reveal-shrinkage-of-utahs-great-salt-lake