… Once considered a relic of the 1930s Great Depression era, dust storms are once again a growing challenge across the western United States. … One contributor to these dust events is the slow-motion drying of the massive inland lakes across the western U.S. caused mainly by climate change and intensive water use. Among them is Imperial Valley’s Salton Sea. … Under pressure from intense water use and climate change-fueled drought, the vast lake is steadily receding. … [T]he Salton Sea is also laced with decades of agricultural chemicals, pesticides and the remnants of military bomb testing — which researchers have warned may be making it into the air as well.