Some scientists predict that without emergency conservation measures, Great Salt Lake will dry up completely in the next five years, devastating migratory bird populations and creating a public health crisis linked to toxic dust in the lakebed.

Also, the bipartisan infrastructure law signed by President Biden in 2021 allots $5 billion over five years for low-income communities to replace diesel school buses with clean electric ones. But an unintended consequence of the measure’s terms prevents some of the neediest communities from benefiting from the program.

And George Washington Carver was born into slavery but went on to become a famous agronomist and helped poor people in the South improve their lives and soils by planting peanuts and other legumes. This week, he comes back from the past in the form of actor and playwright Paxton Williams to talk about intersections between racial dynamics and agricultural development.

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Announcing our next Living on Earth Book Club event! KOALA: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future on March 2nd. Sign up for this free, virtual event at loe.org/events.

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