#1550 The Death of Glen Canyon Dam

Listening to America

History, Politics, Unitedstates, Society & Culture, American

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

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Summary

This week, Clay Jenkinson speaks with the director of the Glen Canyon Institute Eric Balken for our initiative Water and the West: The West Runs Dry. Balken believes Glen Canyon Dam should be re-engineered to pass the water of the Colorado River, including its immense silt load, around Glen Canyon Dam. Given the over-allocation of the Colorado River and global climate change, it will be impossible, Balken says, to keep both Lake Powell and Lake Mead full. He believes the water crisis is actually a great opportunity to undo one of the greatest industrial mistakes in American history. What if we emptied Lake Powell and created Glen Canyon National Park in one of the most beautiful canyons in the world?

Transcript

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0:00.0	This week, on Listening to America, my interview with the director of the Glen Canyon Institute
0:08.4	Eric Balkan for our initiative Water and the West, the West runs dry.
0:13.2	Balkan believes Glen Canyon Dam should be re-engineered to pass the water of the Colorado
0:17.8	River, including its immense silt load, around Glen Canyon Dam.
0:22.8	Given the overallocation of the Colorado River, and now global climate change, it will
0:27.6	be impossible, experts say, to keep both Lake Powell and Lake Mead full, time to face
0:33.0	reality in a creative way, says Balkan.
0:36.0	He believes the water crisis is actually an opportunity to undo one of the greatest
0:40.6	industrial mistakes in American history.
0:43.0	What if we emptied Lake Powell and created Glen Canyon National Park in one of the most
0:48.0	beautiful canyons of the world?
0:50.0	We'll talk about it.
0:51.5	All that and more on this week's Listening to America.
0:57.6	Hello everyone and welcome to this special edition of Listening to America.
1:06.2	I'm Clay Jenkinson.
1:07.2	I'm speaking today with Eric Balkan, who is the executive director of the Glen Canyon
1:11.6	Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1:14.2	Welcome, Eric.
1:15.2	Thank you so much for having me.
1:16.7	So tell me, in short terms, what the Glen Canyon Institute is and how you got engaged
1:22.2	with it.
1:23.3	The Glen Canyon Institute is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1996.
	...

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