Outside the eruption: The water level of the salt lake poses a challenge, fewer people of working age could slow the economy

Wildlife, air quality at risk as the Great Salt Lake approaches rock bottom

The Great Salt Lake retreats from Anthelope Island near Salt Lake City on May 4, 2021. The lake has been shrinking for years, and a drought sweeping the American West could make this year the worst yet. The receding water is already affecting nesting pelicans, one of the millions of birds that depend on the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi. (AP Photo / Rick Bowmer)

The silvery-blue waters of the Great Salt Lake stretch across the Utah desert and have covered an area the size of Delaware for much of history. But the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi has been shrinking for years. And a drought sweeping the American West could make this year the worst yet.

The receding water is already affecting the nesting site of pelicans, one of the millions of birds that depend on the lake. Sailboats were lifted out of the water to keep them from getting stuck in the mud. If the seabed becomes drier, dust containing arsenic could be released into the air that millions of people breathe.

Fewer people of working age can hold back the economy. Will it raise pay?

In this May 26, 2021 photo, a worker sign hangs in the window of a store along Main Street in Deadwood, SD reached retirement age and thousands died from the coronavirus. (AP Photo / David Zalubowski)

With America’s labor market recovering and labor demand rising this summer, employers are unlikely to have a chance to relax anytime soon. The labor shortage is likely to linger for years after the rapidly reopening economy shakes off its growing pains.

Remember that the number of people of working age has done something in the past year that it has never done before in the history of the country: it has shrunk.

Still, some economists see a silver lining for the individual: Fewer working-age people could force companies to compete harder for hiring and retaining employees. And that could mean higher wages, better opportunities, and other incentives to retain and attract workers, a trend already evident in the June jobs report released by the government on July 2nd.

Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy plans annoy some, welcomed by others

FILE – In this February 18, 2020 file photo, Boy Scouts of America uniforms are on display in the retail store at the French Creek Council of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Summit Township, Pennsylvania. A $ 850 million agreement by the Boy Scouts of America to compensate victims of sexual abuse sparked outrage among some abuse survivors and their supporters on Friday, July 2, 2021, while encouraging others as that considered the best result that could be achieved under the circumstances. (Christopher Millette / Erie Times-News via AP, file)

A $ 850 million agreement by the Boy Scouts of America to compensate victims of sexual abuse caused outrage among some survivors and their advocates on July 2, while others were encouraged and viewed this as the best outcome available among those given Circumstances could be achieved.

The agreement, which was filed in court late July 1 as a step towards resolving a complex bankruptcy case, includes the BSA’s national leadership, abuse victims, local Boy Scout councils and lawyers appointed to represent victims who might make future claims .

Tribes say access to voting was violated by the US Supreme Court ruling

FILE – In this photo taken on Thursday, October 25, 2018, Brandon Nez displays his flag near his jewelry stand in Monument Valley, Utah, where tourists stand on the freeway recreating a famous running scene from the movie Forest Gump. As Native American tribes across the country struggle for more ballot box access, Navajo voters in a Utah district could change the balance of power in the first general election since a federal judge ordered their constituencies to be overturned as illegally drawn in order to minimize native votes . Native Americans did not receive US citizenship until 1924, and even then, for decades, some states forbade them from voting if they were on reservations or failed an English literacy test. (AP Photo / Rick Bowmer, File)

Apache County voters were required to cast their ballots at their assigned polling station. Those registered in Navajo County could vote anywhere in the county. Coconino County used a hybrid model.

The Navajo Nation has long argued that the approach is inconsistent and confusing, resulting in ballot papers being rejected and tribal members denied the same choice as others in Arizona.

The US Supreme Court on July 1 disagreed on a larger case over Arizona voting regulations, upholding a ban on counting ballots cast in the wrong district and returning early ballots for someone else.