This Green Earth

Celia Peterson with Park City Municipals’ Sustainability Department discusses My Sustainable Year programs and measures.

Over the past 150 years, the Great Salt Lake has shrunk by nearly one third, exposing a significant amount of the dry lake bed. When storms come from the west the dust that gets picked up is often deposited on the snow pack of the Wasatch Range. A University of Utah study published last month concludes that dust from the lake is accelerating snow melt by as much as one week each year. Dr. McKenzie Skiles, the lead author of the report, joins Chris and Nell to discuss the study.

The 8 th Annual Summit County Christmas Bird Count was held earlier this month. Chris speaks with the director of that event, Nate Brown, about what birds were observed, if there were any unusual species spotted, and what trends in bird types, seasonal variations and populations are occurring in the county.

In the second half of the program, Momentum Recycling, a glass recycling business in Salt Lake City, is launching a residential, curbside glass pick up program here is Summit County. We learn about the program, what glass they accept, what it costs and how you can sign up.

The Utah Legislature holds its 2019 session beginning on January 28 th . There are a number of bills and resolutions on the docket with respect to the environment, including one item which involves the legislature developing appropriations for 100-million dollars on air-quality projects and programs. Joining Chris in the first half of the program to discuss these proposed bills are representatives from HEAL Utah, a non-profit environmental advocacy group that, among other things, tracks the

Writer and director, Mathew Testa joins Chris and Nell to discuss his new film, The Human Element. It’s a film that reveals how environmental change is affecting our lives on an almost daily basis. And how a more balanced relationship with the planet is critical to our future health and wellbeing.

Chris and Nell speak with professor Rob Davies with the Physics Department at Utah State University. Among other things, Dr. Davies covers the physics underlying climate change and why, as he puts it, it’s real, it’s us, it’s bad, we’re sure. He also previews a talk he is giving on this subject on January 14 th at the Park City Hospital.

In the second part of the program, Chris and Nell turn their attention to the states ongoing drought. The governor declared a formal state of emergency with respect to our drought back in October. Since then, the state has been attempting to collect better precipitation data from around the state. One idea is to recruit local citizens or groups to become precipitation monitors and forward that data to the state. Chris and Nell speak with Linda Clark Gillmor director of the Office of Rural

The 2018 Arctic Report Card was released by NOAA last week. One recent finding: 30 years ago, ice older than four years used to make up 16% of the total ice pack; it now makes up less than 1%. The lead author of this report, Dr. Emily Osborne discusses other findings of the Arctic Report Card.

Paul Rogers, ecology professor at Utah State University joins Chris and Nell to provide an update on the health and welfare of the 106-acre Pando Aspen Grove. The grove is the largest living organism on the planet and is located at Fish Lake, east of Richfield, Utah.