Repeal the Port Rally at the Capitol

Over 200 hundred concerned residents came out today to make their voices heard. We give a big thank you to everyone who braved the biggest snow storm of the year and made it up to the Capitol for the rally.

Of the many speakers there was Dr. Moench who gave an inspiring speech, of which was quoted in the Deseret News who covered the rally:

“We live in a world where the rich and powerful and politically connected write public policy to increase their advantage and their wealth at the expense of everyone else,” said Brian Moench, M.D., president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. “And there is no better example of both of these pernicious trends than the dirty energy inland port.”

“Behind a smokescreen of words like ‘sustainable,’ ‘the greenest ever, ‘net-zero’ and ‘electrified,’ the port’s Pied Pipers want you to think it’s the second coming of the Green New Deal,” Moench said. “But in the real world, it’s just the zombie return of the Brown Old Deal. We are driving full throttle to the edge of the cliff where the climate crisis will imperil every person on Earth. But the port’s Pied Pipers want you to think we don’t need to worry about that.”

Read full Deseret News coverage about the rally here.

UPHE and the other groups are in this fight against the port for the long haul. We believe the public is already widely opposed to the dirty energy inland port, and that opposition will only increase as time goes by. We also believe that, just like with the repeal of the unpopular tax “reform” bill the legislature passed just a month ago, a complete disconnect between what the people want and what the legislature tries to force fed us can only go on for so long before the legislature gives in. As Dr. Moench said:

“We refuse to sacrifice our future for the profits of Rio Tinto, the Colemena Group, the Romney Group and the politicians that counted on us sitting on our hands and remaining silent. We’re not going to sit on our hands. We’re not going to remain silent. We’re not going to be intimidated! And we’re not going to stop, until they–Repeal the Port!”

Here’s additional rally coverage from the Salt Lake Tribune:

“These facts have been repeated at every port authority board meeting, press conference, City Council meeting, protest and rally dealing with the proposed polluting port,” said Georgie Corkery, membership and outreach coordinator with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. “I am sad that we are here again today because it means that these facts are being blatantly ignored.”

Here is a link to the full Facebook Live video of the Repeal the Port Rally.