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Show Thi s.ilt Lake Tribune 18A Mindav. Max 5 I'IK (oimnon Carrier Pull the Plug on Shortsighted Lake Pumping Proposal B Orlando Cuellar Tin quiMinn of how to reduce unti ulli moJi Iv i untrol the rising level of the Great alj Lake hat been the subject of lively debate- m ritent years and several solutions have bet it advanced both by concerned joil b) jiobln and plivate agencies Mthuugh the stale has already adopted an d(K il plan it is not without dissension i. major source of i ontroversy stems from it, et non e of two workable, but entirely dit- - that the construction of the pumping project will cost $52 million, md $4 million annually for operation Diking will cost an additional $ 00 million, and $5 million annually for maintenance In 10 years the project could exceed $300 million Another problem is that the desert basins into which the water will be pumped have a limited holding capacity. If the lake rises 4 more feet the basins and the lake would merge, nullifying the pumping operation Moreover, if the present wet trend continues the "ponds " will start filling naturally from the rising water table. The ponds are expected to flood 463.000 acres of desert lands, evamillion acre feet of water per porating year The resulting humidity will doubtless exacerbate an already severe winter fog Diking is also expected to damage wetlands and wildlife habitat. (See Tribune Feb. 27. 1985). We should also recognize that the salt deposits will permanently ruin nearly a half a million acres of desert ecosystem, virtually engulfing the Newfoundland Mountains in a sea of salt This unique range ts rich in wildlife and may well represent the most protected wilderness in North Ameri- rin-m1- i 1 - liida s Common Carrier author is Orlando Cuellar. 18 5 Quail Point Hoad, ball l.aketiu.l lahtiUJt Mr. Cuellar is an asso-- i i.Ue prolessor of biology at the l 'niersit of ( tah. specializing in animal parthenogenesis and reptilian ecology The tt'n in the article reflect the personal news of the auv 1 thor let tint methods of controlling the lake puipping the excess water out. or regulating The state has selected the pump-ing'optio- Orlando Cuellar Aciording to critics, suth a method is shortsighted will cause extensive environmental damage, and in the long run w ill i ost more Given the vastly different nature ot the two approaches, it is desirable at this time to consider their individual merits and shortcomings in order to make the best possible choice in terms of total costs, potential impact on the environment, and long-terbenefits The level of the Great Salt Lake has been monitored regularly since 1830 tSee U S Geological Survey) For the next 23 years the lake rose from the original level of 4,200 feet above sea level, to its historic high of 4 211 5 reached in 1873 After that, the lake s declined steadily for 100 years, lowest historic level around its reaching 1063. a total drop of about 20 feet to approximately 4 192 Since 1965 the lake has risen steadily to the present levagain, as in the el of about 4.210 feet The total increase durspan was approximately 18 ing this feet, but the majority occurred suddenly r interval from 1981 to during a 1984 During this brief period, the iake underwent the greatest uninterrupted increase ever recorded in 135 vears. approximated 12 more-or-les- Record. Feb 23. 1984 states that Robert B Hilbert, general manager of the Salt Lake City Water Conservancy District "said he is becoming nervous' because it doesn't appear the project Jordanelle is going ahead As a water utility manager I'm concerned I need mure water " If CCR and the pumping foloperation become a reality, we face the lowing ridiculous dilemma $2 5 billion in federal taxes will be spent to bring extra water into the lake, and several hundred million in local taxes will in turn be spent to pump it out. According to Mr. Smart. Mr. Hilbert said "Ctah water users and taxpayers must eventually repay the federal government." so the cost to Utah may be much greater than we presently suspect. Linford wrote that an environmental study of the pumping plan alone "would cost " Jack Reterxon of the BLM said JjOO.OOO ca (the little ice age), During the the lake rose to about 4.220 feet, according to Dr Donald R Currey. University of Utah. Approximately 2.500 years ago (during the Greek era) the lake was 30 feet higher than now. said Dr Robert K. Vickrey. U. of U., but 15 000 years ago. it was 1.000 feet higher. According to state climatologist E. Arlo Richardson, analysis of tree rings from the past 2.000 years suggests a wetter trend for the next three to five decades If the ancient lake should ever return, even the most ambitious plans would be futile For the moment, however, a modified form of Mr. Linford's idea may be the most practical approach. Waters from the Provo and Spanish Fork rivers could be diverted into the Sevier drainage for irrigation, as suggested recently by Roger E Nelson of Salma The Bear mid-16Q0- could be diverted into the Snake River The distance from Soda Springs. Idaho, to the headwaters of the Black Foot River is only 10 miles. Utah could donate or sell its extra water to the Black Foot Indian Reservation or to Idaho. Otherw ise. the Bear could possibly be diverted into Hansel Valley for irrigation. Many solutions have been proposed re- According to Dr Currey. if the lake rises 6 more feet it will spill naturalyv into the western desert, in effect providing its own flood control For millions of years this body of water has been alternating between a salty puddle and a gigantic freshwater lake and it will continue to do so for millions to come. The present predicament is due not so much to a fluctuating lake as to the foolish people that encroached upon the lake and assumed that nature was invariable. At the present rate of increase, the Great Salt Lake may soon become an inland sea capable of supporting a marine ecosystem. Unfortunately. many years of abuse have converted this once pristine lake into a common cesspool. Any resulting food stuffs (including the present water fowl) would undoubtedly be hazardous for human consumption The time has come to pay the piper. cently, ranging from practical and amusing to the bizarre In this vein I would like to offer the utlimate long-tersolution. Dig a tunnel from Locomotive Springs into Idaho and drain the entire lake into the Snake River However, the tunnel would need to be quite long (50 miles), and Idaho might object to contaminating the Snake with brine and dangerous chemicals From the economic and environmental standpoint the most sensible solution is simply to retreat and let nature take ts course How to Submit Articles manager. Plumbers and Steamfit-ter- s Cnion. Local IU. and Hubert a retired Air force colonel The board seeks articles from all segments of the community Articles need not be professionally prepared but should be about three and a half pages of typed copy They should pertain to in Common necessu nly reflect those of The Salt Lake Tribune or the Common Carrier Board of Lay Editors Articles in this department are selected by the lay board of editors which operates independently of The Opinions expressed Corner do nut Mul-dru- double-space- Tribune editorial and reportorial d, g the economic or social of policies. the Jntermountam Area Articles The Common Carrier board, repshould be timely, have a basic idea, resenting a cross section of the compromote dialogue and be challengMrs. of is Mary composed munity. ing. Green, a veteran federal employee: Material should be mailed to ComDr David Mulder, psychologist: Mrs. Deanna Clark, civic worker and past mon Carrier, The Salt Lake Tribune; president of the Ctah League of Wo- P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake Citv. Utah, men voters: Ms Connie Meske. office 84110. well-bein- mid-1800- The Public Forum Point of Law four-yea- feet have predicted the ensuing flood, for even the greatest historical increase of 12 feet during the nnd 1800s had occurred over a span. Also, for nearly 50 years prior to 1980, the surface elevation of the Great Salt Lake had remained well below 4,200 feet, so there was little reason to suspect that it would sudden-!reach flood stage, and even less from previous flooding experience, for the last similar flood had occurred more than 100 years out of sight of mind. ago In the latest rising, the spreading shoreline inundated thousands of acres of industrial. agricultural and grazing lands, including most of the private and public marshes used for hunting, and numerous other facilities. Losses soared into the hundreds of millions. The first official plan adopted by the governor's office and the Legislature to stem the rising waters was to cut a opening through the railroad causeway dividing the lake Since the larger arm receives most of the runoff, its level is usually higher. Breaching the causeway" as this solution was called, would allow greater flow into the north arm. thereby reducing the level of the main arm However, equalization only reNo one in 1980 could v - 300-fo- duced the level about 6 inches. The average summer evaporation alone is three times that amount. And yet. this simplistic solution was immediatley challenged by industry Extensive legal battles followed for several years before the breaching plan was finally implemented Meanwhile, the lake had risen several more feet, and the difference seemed inconsequential, indeed absurd In 1983 alone, the hike rose a record 3 2 leet to more than 4.205, and continued rising to the peak of 4.209 23 recorded on July 1. 1984 A Tribune article by Lance Gurwell Feb 1. 1984) reports that during a I' S. of Engineers meeting held in Ogden on Jan 28. 1984. representatives of Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp warned Corps officials that breaching the causeway would seriously damage their operation, forcing 300 i Tribune Readers Opinions Contract Involves Give, Take By Edward McDonough A contract is made when an offer is accepted. if there is something given on both sides of the contract The something that is to given or promised by each of the parties the contract m exchange for something given or promised by the other party is called "consideration" by lawyers. "How about cutting my lawn for 10 bucks, kid'" "You got a deal, mister You've also got a contract. There is an offer, an acceptance of the offer and consideration of both sides 10 bucks promised by you in exchange for a lawn mowing job by- Edward McDonough ng in Salt Lake City. is a lawyer practici- him If. after a reasonable competent lawn cut. you decided to pay the kid only $5. you could be taken to Small Claims Court for the other five, even though there wasn't anything in writing Some contracts have to be in writing, most don't "How about cutting mv lawn for free, kid"" No contract, even if the kid said yes. because there's consideration only on one side, his More likely there would be no contract because there would be no acceptance, gratuitous advice on where you could put your grass Suppose the kid. after you offered him $10 to cut the lawn, said he'd think it over, and you told him to forget it You'd cut it yourself And then, after he thought it over, the kid came back and said. "You got a deal, mister '' No contract because you withdrew yuiir offer before he accepted it only-som- Suppose the kid didn't say anything, just shrugged his shoulders and walked away, and then came back with a lawn mower and cut the grass? You owe him $10 because he ccepted your offer by performance. Then let's say that you offer to pay him $10 every week all summer long, and after a couple weeks he starts doing a really sloppy job on the lawn and you fire him. Did you break the contract? Can the kid sue you for the "breach?" No. because doing a good job was an implied condition of the contract. Suppose he's doing a great job but then he quits. Can you hold him to his contract and make him keep mowing your lawn each Saturday? Not unless he had agreed in writing to give you notice and then only if the notice period was reasonable. Since slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment, a contract for labor that the employee could not break would be illegal. What if you hired the kid to water your lawn when you went on vacation and you came back and the lawn was dry and burned Can up and it cost $500 to have it you sue the kid for breach of contract and get your $500 damages? Probably not. because this kid was only 10 years old and the judge would tell you that he didn't have the capacity to make a contract that made him responsible for your lawn. ty. expressed and implied conditions and legality of subject matter: the elements of a contract. Lawyers' words for common-sense concepts. (Point of Law is published for informational purposes only, and should not be used as legal advice. You should see your own lawyer for specific legal opinion.) s Geo-logii- The Whole Message? M1TSUGI KASAI Reagan Lost? It was President John F. Kennedy (and not a fellow named Ronald Reagan) who said. "The hottest places in hell are reserved Forum Knits Public Forum letters must be submitted exclusively to The T ribune and bear w riter's full name, signature ant address. Names must be printed on political letters but may be withheld for good reason on others. Writers are limited to one letter every 10 days. Preference will be given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting use of the writers true name. All letters are subject to condensation. Mail to the Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, Post Office Box 867. Salt Lake City, UT 84110. Bruce McConkies testimony about Christ being God's Son. our Savior and Redeemer and salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way," the whole, complete truth or message of our Lord Jesus Christ? In an address March 2. at BYU. Mr. should not strive McConkie stated we for a special and personal relationship with Christ." He said "I wonder if it is not part of Lucifiers system to make people feel they are special friends of Jesus" as "Jesus maintained a reserve between him and his disciIs Elder 1 Cambodian Holocaust As this nation honors the victims and survivors of the Nazi holocaust by holding memorial services, one does not have to go back 40 years to be reminded of the tragedies that could be brought upon any group of people. Nut in numbers, but in the degree of the Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodians) holocaust is comparable to that of the Nazis In the name of "cultural revolu-tiao" Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Rot. has systematically killed million to 2 million Khmer Cambodians ben 1 ' tiatui ally into the lake (Iark BYRNE HEIDI PARES PATRICIA ... 1 Smart BRYSON MARY-LEA- . provide storage reservoirs Instead of darning the Bear River and other tributaries, tiow ever, great sums of money have been spent for other dams such as the Conti ul Ctah Reclamation project CC1 to bring water to this valley from other basins " T; ibune onv ironmontul writer Jim Uuolf Tribune Jan 3. 984 wrote that the CCR is expected to cost a staggering $2 55 billiun whu h Salt I. like City water consorvancv defended as "very reasonable' to meet future water needs The population o! Salt Lake County may approach million hv the year 21100. according to the Ctah Gifu c ot ll. inning and Budget Tribune slff writer Eric McMullin (Tribune Feb 13. 19HC that the burgeoning population ot Sandv alone is expected to reach luumui in the next 15 years, doubling the current population of about .50.000, and that Sandy ofli i nils ale depending on CCR for the extia water According to story by Tribune Mallei GeotgeA Sot enson (Tribune Feb 6. 1984) the Salt Luke City Water Conservancy Board lias agreed to receive an extra aU.OOU act e feet of water annually from CCR. which is roughly equivalent to the amount flowing Chi istopt-- d believe Jesus refuted Mr. McConkies negative comments about a "personal relawhen he tionship" with him in John 15 said. "Abide in me and I in you, you cannot for bear fruit except you abide in me without me you can do nothing If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and cast into the fire and burned." Mr McConkie "may have taught and written more doctrines and words" about but I wonder if he missed the Christ message "Christ in us. our hope of glory." Colossians 27" JR. ANDERLE North Salt Lake lav observer and others that the long-tersolution to the Great Salt Lake high water is to dam the streams discharging into it and by fast-foo- for those persons who. in a moral crisis, maintained their neutrality." What a difference human character makes when America's honor is at stake. Character is fate. Where has this ignuminous episode of laying wreathes on the graves of godless S S ofticers at Bitburg cemetery left Mr. Reagan? I count him lost who is lost to shame. MARY JEAN FREEBAIRN No Skyscrapers, Please I of I'tali "officialdom." (Tribune Jan 1984i He wrote It has been clear to this ailijle The boycott was not an attempt to "get even" with McDonalds, but rather to make a point about what can and does happen in the chains The objective of the major boycott was to make McDonald's management aware of students' concern for this problem. The editorial's assumption that boycotts do not work is incorrect, because there is strong evidence proving boycotts have worked in the past. The author suggests students could learn other means of turning intentions into results by "sitting through a few lectures in History 101." The Social Justice Seniors have class, already learned, in this college-leve- l that there are other means for the situation The boycott was not meant to bring about a national change, but rather to make the students of Judge Memorial aware of restaurant wastes and, most important, of their own wastes. It has inspired us to be more conscious of this growing problem. coming the Western propaganda coup. The Vietnamese government hopes to eradicate the Cambodian race from Southeast Asia in the same light that Nazi Germany wanted to eradicate the Jewish people. Cambodian survivors throughout the world are most concerned with a normal life. After the normalization ot ,ueir lives, they will want to contribute to i.,e legacy of the Nazi holocaust by making people more aware of the past and by making an unending effort for a future of peace and justice. People who cannot remember past injustices are doomed to repeat them ples." proach An cial Justice class. "... out of work ecordmg to Ted Arnow of the E S Survey, the salinity in the north arm prior to the breach was approximately 27 percent and is now about 19 percent The salinity of the main arm is about 3 3 percent compared to 3 5 percent for the ocean Last year Tribune columnist Ernest 11 Linford criticized the "shortsighted" ap- i We students of Judge Memorial High School would like to issue a rebuttal to the April 10 editorial in The Tribune concerning the boycott of McDonalds by the Senior So- Offer, acceptance, consideration, capaci- Army-Corp- 17 Rebuts Editorial I Grapplcrs lOV Cl t.rAV.4 ' M. i ... tween 1973 and 1979 Most of the Cambodian educated and intellectual people have been killed The mass murders during the four years destroyed thousands of years of Cambodian culture and have sadly uprooted its education, family and society The Khmer Rouge bloodbath has freed the Vietnamese government from engaging in the scale dirty work and from be- sie - this publicity about Block All town When 57 down- read it I got the worst feeling empty space in downtow n buildings, we dont need expensive condos and apartments, and there are plenty of hoThere I is so much tels. One thing that made me cringe, was the possibility of earthquakes. The old 22nd Ward in the Salt Lake Stake had to be abandoned because of a quake, and a building is more dangerous. When I started thinking about the possiblity of an earthwell. I shuddered. (My hunches quake usually pan out.) I think this is the worst idea of all. the buidling' Oh no. that would be the nth of stupidity for downtown We don't need these high buildings, they are too dangerous in this area. Maybe a 10 or 13 story building, or even a but no higher. There is no guarantee that there won't be quakes, and other dangerous happenings. How about fire escapes and so on" Hey you guys, don't issue any permits for tall buildings like that. The old J.C. Penney building could be used just as it is. It did a gredt job for years, why not continue using it in some way. y ' . . . Again, no skyscrapers . . please' ALBERT LEROY Locker Search? In light of recent allegations concerning the misuse of public property by I.clund a ate 4 locker search seems appropri- w IftT FARLEY |
