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Could Importing Seawater Save The Salton Sea? We Discuss The Implications

378253 11: Brackish water turns red with micro-organisms as the rising Salton Sea floods brush north of Calipatria, CA, July 29, 2000. The state's largest and saltiest lake, landlocked in the Colorado Desert of southern California, was formed by accident during a Colorado River water diversion project nearly 100 years ago and is still rising. Amid debate over whether the sea is facing ecological collapse, plans are being drafted to save the formerly important recreational area. (Photo by David McNew/Newsmakers)
378253 11: Brackish water turns red with micro-organisms as the rising Salton Sea floods brush north of Calipatria, CA, July 29, 2000. The state's largest and saltiest lake, landlocked in the Colorado Desert of southern California, was formed by accident during a Colorado River water diversion project nearly 100 years ago and is still rising. Amid debate over whether the sea is facing ecological collapse, plans are being drafted to save the formerly important recreational area. (Photo by David McNew/Newsmakers)
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David McNew/Getty Images
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Listen 52:12
Today on AirTalk, we get the latest on the movement to save the Salton Sea. Also on the show, we learn about historic LGBTQ landmarks in Los Angeles; and more.
Today on AirTalk, we get the latest on the movement to save the Salton Sea. Also on the show, we learn about historic LGBTQ landmarks in Los Angeles; and more.

Today on AirTalk, we discuss how California's power sources are addressing this season's rising temperatures. Also on the show, we get the latest on the movement to save the Salton Sea; learn about historic LGBTQ landmarks in Los Angeles; and more.

Could Importing Seawater Save The Salton Sea? We Discuss The Implications

Listen 24:29
Could Importing Seawater Save The Salton Sea We Discuss The Implications

Salton Sea water levels continue to go down and that poses a number of problems for nearby communities and the organisms living in the water. A number of proposals being considered are focusing on the idea of importing seawater across the state’s desert to solve the problem. 

Environment reporter Mark Odalde’s new piece looks at the proposed plans. The California Natural Resources Agency is tasked with coming with a long-term fix, but the deadline is approaching. Odalde says the agency owes the state a plan by the end of 2022. 

Today on AirTalk, we break down what’s happening with the Salton Sea, the proposals being considered and the various implications. Do you have questions? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.  

We reached out to the California Natural Resources Agency, but the agency was unable to make someone available for an interview.

With guest host Sharon McNary

Guests: 

Mark Olalde, environment reporter for ProPublica’s Southwest office, his piece is “Clock is ticking on dreams of saving Salton Sea with water from Mexico's Sea of Cortez;” he tweets

Michael Cohen, a senior researcher at the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, a think tank that focuses on water conservation issues

Timothy Bradley, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Irvine; he has been working on issues related to the Salton Sea and salt lakes for decades

Los Angeles Is Home to Numerous LGBTQ Landmarks. What Are The Ones Most Important To You?

Listen 26:53
Los Angeles Is Home to Numerous LGBTQ Landmarks. What Are The Ones Most Important To You

When many people think about LGBTQ history in the United States, they cast their minds to New York City, where the history and mythologies around Stonewall and activist groups like ACT UP loom large.

But Los Angeles has long been a hotbed for queer resistance and activism as well. A decade before Stonewall, gay and trans people warded off a police raid of a downtown LA donut shop by flinging donuts and coffee cups at the officers trying to detain them, prompting the officers to flee and return with reinforcements. In central LA, Jewel’s Catch One operated for decades as a hub for the city’s Black LGBTQ community. Meanwhile, at the Reverend Troy Perry’s former home in Huntington Park, the reverend founded an LGBTQ church that officiated what Time Magazine dubbed the first public gay wedding in the country in 1968. Los Angeles’ queer history is colorful and diverse, but records are difficult to keep and local archives still struggle to make a record of the people who have long made up the community.

Today on AirTalk, we’re hearing more about some of Los Angeles’ most significant LGBTQ landmarks and histories. Do you have a favorite site of LGBTQ history or community in LA? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

With guest host Sharon McNary

Guests:

Arit John, lifestyle reporter for the Los Angeles Times and co-author of the piece “20 landmarks that underscore L.A.’s pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQ rights”; she tweets

Joseph Hawkins, director of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California (USC), which is the largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world