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Join Us in Improving Our Environment!
Upcoming and Past Events
• June 23, 2007 - Saturday = With Utah Moms for Clean Air, UPHE walked neighborhood in the vicinity of proposed Mountain View Highway to publicize the adverse health impacts on students whose schools would be very close to this proposed highway.
• June 13 UPHE meeting with Ernie Wessman, chairman of Air Quality Board Rick Sprott, Executive director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Cheryl Heying, Director of the Division of Air Quality
• May 2 UPHE presentation to Air Quality Board and UPHE presentation to Public Service Commission
• May 9 UPHE presentation in West Bountiful with public and elected officials
• May 31 meeting with KSL TV Weathermen to discuss better ways to discuss air quality on television
• April 11, Meeting with Division of Air Quality staff
• April 19 UPHE receive Utah Transit Authority award at Rice Eccles breakfast to acknowledge our efforts to promote mass transit
• March 30, 2007 UPHE met with Governor Jon Huntsman, Dr.Dianne Nielson energy advisor to the governor, and Rick Sprott , then director of the Division of Air Quality
Why should other physicians be involved with UPHE?
Recent articles in the New England Journal of Medicine and Circulation have shown that along the Wasatch Front, even short-term exposure to elevated PM 2.5 pollution levels resulted in increased risk of stroke and cardiac death (Circulation 2006 114: 2443, 2006). The increased Utah death rate attributable to elevated levels of PM 2.5 has been estimated at approximately 1,000 individuals per year.
One hundred physicians can have a stronger voice than 10. Most of our experiences with non profit organizations is that we send a check once a year. Given that we have busy lives and that there are many worthy causes, it is important to be involved with causes where we can make a difference. We are not asking for contributions at this time. We are asking physicians and health professionals to join who might have the interest in developing expertise with one environmental problem. We will need help giving presentations and meeting with community officials. To get people to use mass transit, bicycles, and use their automobiles less, we need to convince people to change their behavior. Professional who feel that they can contribute expertise in behavior modification techniques are also welcome.
We want physicians and patients to know that air pollution and other toxic environmental exposure may have exacerbated or even caused their illness, myocardial infarction, or stroke. We would like patients and physicians to share their experiences with us. See Forum.