For many Mormons in Utah – who make up two-thirds of the state’s population of 3 million – the concept of being a good steward is wrapped up in a pioneer nostalgia that favors an artificial, irrigated landscape over the natural desert environment. This Mormon version of Manifest Destiny is at the heart of why Utahns suck up so much municipal water as well as why the state is moving at a dangerously glacial pace to deal with the climate crisis.
It explains why Utah uses more municipal water than any state in the country, except for Idaho. And why the state has long supported a heavily subsidized water pricing system and zoning laws that encourage, if not flat-out demand, a yard full of well-tended grass.
When trying to explain the near-religious devotion to irrigated landscapes, Mormons often quote a verse from the Old Testament (Isaiah 35:1-2) that inspired their 19th century pioneer ancestors who settled in Utah: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... egadrought
Over the last two decades, as megadrought took hold in the south-west, arid states such as California, Nevada and Arizona, have been implementing increasingly aggressive conservation measures. Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles budget millions of dollars to pay residents to pull out their lawns while water cops patrol neighborhood streets to make sure everyone is following the rules. But until last summer, few conservation measures were implemented in Utah.
What is it a Prophet does again?
“Mormons believe that if there is a problem, God will provide,” says Rich Ingebretsen, a great-grandson of Brigham Young and founder of the non-profit Glen Canyon Institute. “That is why Governor Cox asked everyone to pray for rain. The attitude has always been that if we pray and pay our tithing to the church, then we don’t need to save the Earth because God will save it for us. I have heard this so many times.”
Don't forget to not eat for 24 hours, that fixes everything.
Ingebretsen says he has observed more Latter-day Saints members in recent years who are concerned about climate crisis and have started to cut back on watering their lawns. But he is disappointed at how Mormon church leadership has not taken aggressive steps to set a public example on water conservation.
“It is hard to miss the fact that every LDS church along the Wasatch Front has wall to wall Kentucky bluegrass,” says Zach Frankel. “And they over water it, flooding streets and sidewalks. I have never seen an LDS church in Utah with xeriscape landscaping.”
The Church cares more about looks than it does about people.