The weird weather continues in Ivins. We woke up to a lot of fog this morning. It is nice if you don't have to go anywhere but it's horrible to drive in.
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Monday, January 22, 2024
Daily Universe
Grow the Flow, other organizations gather at Capitol for Great Salt Lake rally
By Ethan Pack January 22, 2024
Hundreds of people gathered at the steps of the Utah Capitol building on Saturday, Jan. 20 to raise awareness and public support for the Great Salt Lake’s critically low water levels and sustainability efforts.
Participants carried signs, wore costumes depicting native wildlife and listened to local experts and leaders involved in sustainability efforts speak about ways to help fill the rapidly depleting lake. Local water security organizations set up information tables and handed out pamphlets about the Great Salt Lake.
“Yeah, the lake’s already mostly gone. We’ve lost two-thirds of its area and 75% of its water. So this isn’t something that will happen, it’s something that’s happening now,” Ben Abbott, executive director of Grow the Flow and professor of environmental science and sustainability at BYU, said.
The lake’s overall health has been in decline and is now at an all-time low due to Utah’s water needs, and organizations like Grow the Flow know greater action needs to be taken before the lake is past saving, he said.
Abbott said several major issues will arise if the Great Salt Lake continues to drop. The Great Salt Lake is a major source of brine shrimp, used to feed 45% of shrimp sold worldwide, as well as minerals such as magnesium and potash, the latter of which is used as an ingredient in fertilizers, he said.
Abbott said that were the lake to dry up, dust and harmful toxins collected in the lake’s sediment would become airborne, causing health issues such as asthma.
“One of the foundational ecological lessons that we’ve learned over the past 100 years is that there’s no separation between environment and society,” Abbott said.
Grow the Flow was formed after Abbott and a small group of researchers, lawyers and concerned citizens, published an emergency report in January 2023, detailing the Great Salt Lake’s situation. The organization seeks to involve Utahns in sustainability efforts and aims to develop an action network of 100,000 people who can assist in its mission, according to Grow the Flow’s website.
“We founded Grow the Flow to be an organization that everyone can participate in across political divides, across the urban/rural split, across different professions and backgrounds and levels of understanding,” Abbott said. “We wanted to create a place where everybody can participate.”
The rally was organized by Save Our Great Salt Lake, an organization aiming to raise awareness for the Great Salt Lake. Grow the Flow partnered with Save Our Great Salt Lake for the rally and other organizations, such as the Sageland Collaborative, Utah Food Coalition and SLC Air Protection.
Along with public outreach, members of Grow the Flow participate in research in order to gather data on the lake, said Rachel Wood, scientific director for Grow the Flow and a biology professor at BYU.
“I’m really excited about how much interest there is right now in the Great Salt Lake and how people really care,” Wood said. “That’s really encouraging to me because I think we’re the best hope for the Great Salt Lake.”
Wood said she researched Utah wetlands and saline lakes for the organization. She is currently working on a proposal for the National Science Foundation to obtain funding for a worldwide saline lake research network. Other saline lakes around the world are in similar situations as the Great Salt Lake, she said.
Several BYU students were in attendance at the rally, including students in Plant and Wildlife Sciences 480, a capstone course taught by Abbott.
“The lake itself has a right, not just the people drawing from it,” Alex Olson, a student in PWS 480, said. Olson said students in the capstone course hope to spread awareness about the degrading lake and plan on working this semester to do so.
According to Save Our Great Salt Lake’s official Instagram account, “The legislature has the power to make enormous strides to get water to Great Salt Lake, but it’s going to take a groundswell of community pressure to hold them accountable.”
The account shared a post stating that more than 1,200 people attended the rally and has plans for additional events during the state legislative session.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Snow day at SVU
Since the SVU campus is on a hill, when there is snow they freak out. Actually, it is probably warranted but it's just funny to me. They had a digital day until 11 am and then all the classes after 11 am were in person. Except Courtney has the same professor for her 10 am class as she does for her 11 am class. Because he can't get to campus in 10 minutes, he held both classes digitally. So Courtney got to stay at home all day and take her classes online. A lot of students used the lids to bins as sleds and had a great time. Courtney stayed cuddled in her warm dorm room and watched the snowfall. She did go outside to go to the cafeteria for food but she froze.
Courtney has been told by many people that this is the coldest it has been in the past 5 years or so. It isn't the norm and she is happy to know that. Hopefully, it will warm up for her soon.
Daily Universe
Ethan has a journalism lab class that is writing for the Daily Universe. His first article was a synopsis of the devotional address by Elder Nattress. It can be found by clicking here. I have also included the article below in case the link stops working.
I think he did a great job.
Elder K. Brett Nattress of the Seventy shares daily actions that can develop ability to ‘think celestially’
By Ethan Pack January 16, 2024
Elder K. Brett Nattress of the Seventy spoke to students and faculty about building their faith in Jesus Christ in a campus-wide devotional on Jan. 16.
Elder Nattress started his address by sharing a decision his young son made several years ago that resulted in a slight injury. Elder Nattress likened this decision to decisions we make in our lives that result in both physical and spiritual injury.
“We live in a fast-paced world full of distractions and deceptions that can hurt us. We also live at a time of great opportunity! This is a time that has been prophesied and anticipated by biblical prophets throughout the history of the world,” he said.
It is through Jesus Christ and His Atonement that those who experience this pain and sorrow can be healed, he said. According to Elder Nattress, the way to access Christ’s power is by “thinking celestially,” as President Russell M. Nelson has said.
“We will find peace and safety as we choose to think celestially. This is the key to receiving spiritual power from on high,” he said.
Elder Nattress spoke of the Abol family, whom he met in the Wadi branch of Papua New Guinea. The family waited for the Church for several years before being baptized and are now waiting for an opportunity to be sealed in the temple. They walk four hours one way to attend sacrament meeting each week, he said.
“There is only one explanation why these saints endure so much and sacrifice so much each week. It is because they know that the gospel is true! They choose to always remember Him. They strive to think celestially,” he said.
Elder Nattress shared three daily actions and a weekly action, taught by prophets and apostles, that he said will “make an eternal difference in your life.” The three actions are to 1) pray every day, 2) read the Book of Mormon every day and 3) find someone to serve every day.
The weekly action is to partake of the sacrament, according to Elder Nattress.
“Remember ‘by small and simple things are great things brought to pass,’” he said, quoting Book of Mormon prophet Alma. He then promised blessings if students and faculty follow his counsel and take action.
“I know these measures sound simple and easy to do, but I promise that if we are faithful in these simple measures, we will find great joy and will be blessed with an increase of His Spirit to be with us,” he said.
Before closing his remarks, Elder Nattress shared a story of he and his wife serving as mission leaders in the Arizona Gilbert Mission. During their second year, Sister Nattress was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
While the experience was challenging for them, Elder Nattress said the Lord sent them an “angel” named Raquel, a member of the Church who was similarly suffering in the hospital.
“Over the next several months, Raquel became a close friend to Shawna … She would hold her hand, share her testimony, share her love and her time. She provided meals to our family and brought her daughters over to clean our house,” Elder Nattress said.
Elder Nattress said Raquel was “thinking celestially” and had a grateful attitude toward God that was an inspiration to both him and Sister Nattress. He also shared Raquel was in attendance at the devotional and continues to be a light to those around her.
Elder Nattress reiterated the four actions he shared and closed with his testimony of the love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for their children.
Monday, January 15, 2024
Carry the 1
In our laundry room downstairs, we have a weird pipe situation where we need an elevated stand to put the washer and drier on so if there is any spillover of water, it can drain properly. We decided we were going to make one ourselves and it has taken us a while to do it. We cut the pieces out a while ago but haven't had the time to put them together. This morning we decided to build it and get it done. After getting it all put together, realizing that I forgot to use wood glue, and putting the base on the floor, we decided to put the board on the top to see if it all worked out. It was then that Bryan realized he had forgotten to carry a 1 in his math equations to figure out how long to cut the pieces. This is why math matters.
Luckily I didn't use wood glue so we will just have to take it apart, cut the extra 10 inches off, and put it back together again. But that is a problem for future us. We decided to tackle it another time.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Birthday dinner
Since our week had been so busy Bryan decided to make my homemade birthday dinner on Sunday. It was wonderful. He made Malibu Chicken and funeral potatoes. Impressive!
(We had a funeral the week before and had served the typical Mormon funeral food so I was craving funeral potatoes after smelling them all day.)
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Birthday hike and dinner
Bryan and I did a hike the day after my birthday but it was to celebrate my birthday. We took the van and parked it at the end of the trail near the top of Bluff Street. We then drove to Snow Canyon, parked the car, and began the hike. We went from Snow Canyon to Scout Cave and then to Chuckwalla. I had been on part of the trail before when we hiked to Scout Cave with the kids but I hadn't been on the Snow Canyon part of the Chuckwalla part. It was a beautiful day, a gorgeous hike, and it wasn't too hard. We took our time, stopped to eat some lunch, and then finished strong. It took us about 3 hours to do the hike.
We were coming up out of a canyon and I thought we were almost to the car...until Bryan pointed out the lights in the distance. It was the sun glittering off the windshield of the cars in the parking lot where the van was and it was a LONG way off.
But we had a great time,
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We went to dinner with my parents to celebrate my birthday and then we went home to relax after our long hike.
Friday, January 12, 2024
Birthday dinner
For my birthday, Bryan took me to dinner at Panda Garden. They have moo goo gai pan, which I love. But we decided that we needed to figure out how to make it ourselves because they use too many mushrooms! Although, the translation for moo goo gai pan is "mushroom chicken slices" so I don't know what I was thinking.
We got three fortunes and we weren't sure what the first one meant. Is it bad to be the beef in a vegetarian salad or is that good? Seems bad to me and that means the fortune wasn't very good. Anyway, you can judge for yourself. The food was still good.
Friday, January 5, 2024
Skiing at Brian Head
Grandpa Pack wanted to ski at Brian Head so he and Grandma came to town. Bryan, Courtney, and Grandpa went skiing and had a great time. It was cold and started to snow as they left, but they had had a lot of fun. Bryan and Courtney rented skis in Cedar City. Grandpa has his own so he was all set.
Courtney is a great skier and has a lot of fun. I'm glad they were able to go.
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Grass soda?!
Ethan finds the strangest sodas to give to Bryan. For Father's Day, he gave Bryan a Ranch flavored soda. For Christmas, Ethan gave Bryan a grass flavored soda. We decided to let it get cold and then see how it tasted. To be honest, it was really good. It tasted kind of like green apple but it was sweet. I didn't mind it at all but it was weird to think I was drinking something flavored like grass.
Monday, January 1, 2024
Video games
Courtney has spent her break trying to beat scores on the Wii games. She has been having a lot of fun and beat all of us at Wii bowling.
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