scrAPES #3-2

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University of Texas *

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APES

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English

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Oct 30, 2023

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Nora Kadas Period 7 scrAPES #3 (Photo by Robert Alexander) Article Summary The Salton Sea, located in Southern California, was once praised for its popularity as a tourist attraction and oasis but has turned into an environmental danger. Over the course of 3 decades, the Salton Sea has lost ⅓ of its water, increasing saline and chemical concentration to levels that have killed surrounding fish and birds. Air pollution can cause respiratory problems for local residents. There are three primary hypotheses for the demise of the Salton Sea: agricultural problems (crops use less water due to advanced irrigation systems leading to a lack of water getting into the Salton Sea), global warming, and less water flowing into the Salton Sea

from the Colorado River. The article then analyzes a study to conclude that the most direct root of the problem was less water flowing into the Salton Sea. Opinion of Article This article was written by a college student, Jules Berstein, for the University of California. Bernstein asserts data while acknowledging the tragedy of the Salton Sea. According to a study done by Water Resources Research and UCR examining different causes, lack of water flowing into the Salton Sea from the Colorado River is the most prominent cause of its downfall. However, there is still ambiguity around why the Colorado River is not flowing into the Salton Sea, making it more difficult to generate solutions and redeem the once beautiful body of water. It could be directly from global warming, but could also be from a decline in allocations to California. The author suggests that a groundwater or surface related solution could work but the issue must be addressed immediately because the environmental problems caused by the toxicity have been continuing to grow (endangering the habitats of birds and killing local birds, respiratory problems for humans, etc.). So What? What now? The reduction of allocations into California is likely an outcome of global warming, so even if the problem is rooted in global warming directly evaporating the water, global warming is still the root problem, as well as years of neglecting the Salton Sea. Solutions already generated include building a root canal system from the Sea of Cortez/Gulf of California through Mexico and into the Salton Sea, however these kinds of solutions take government approval, so approval is still pending and could take time. The most important outcome of watching this tragedy is to aim to reduce Carbon emissions to reduce global warming, as well as maintaining natural bodies of water and keeping them clean.

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