Scientists have found a ‘sleeping giant’ of environmental problems: Earth is getting saltier
#Salt used to de-ice roads is the single biggest source of salt in the U.S.
By Kasha Patel
October 31, 2023
"Human activities are making the globe saltier, specifically in our soils, fresh water and air, according to a study released Tuesday in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.
"The excess salt has already caused serious issues in freshwater supplies in recent decades. Saltier water led to brown tap water for months in Montgomery County, #Maryland. It also played a part in creating the #toxic lead-laden water in #FlintMichigan.
"Salt pollution isn’t some flashy threat to our existence — like, say, a meteor hitting Earth — but the issue is gravely overlooked and is a 'sleeping giant,' said Sujay Kaushal, lead author of the study. He said it might be the 'most boring but contemporary problem that we have.'
"Most people think of salt as the white specks we put in our food or the salt in oceans, chemically known as sodium chloride (NaCl). That sodium salt can also be found in detergents, other household products and more, but there are many different salts, including calcium, magnesium and other ions used in additional products — and they’re all increasing in places where they don’t normally occur.
"Over the past 50 years, salt ions have increased in #streams and #rivers as people have begun using and producing more salts, the study says. The team found that across the globe, about 2.5 billion acres of soil — an area about the size of the United States — have become saltier. Salt lakes are also drying up and sending saline dust into the air.
“'We use water for everything from growing crops to drinking to industrial processes to heating and cooling,' said Kaushal, a geologist at the University of Maryland. 'But when you have salt in the water, it affects all of those things … and it’s increasing.'"