Bad air is costing us money and, more importantly, our health
Oftentimes, we see public and environmental health pitted against economic interests. We hear “we need jobs,” “we need to develop,” “the economy needs it.” What we’re missing is that they go hand in hand.
An opinion piece published in the Desert News calls out this often overlooked connection.“In 1990 the Deseret News shared an article on health impacts and economic costs of air pollution. In November 2020, BYU and the University of Utah published an article citing an extensive study from 23 top Utah researchers. This work estimated that air pollution costs the people of Utah a staggering $1.8 billion annually and contributes to over 2,500 premature deaths/year.”
The piece, authored by Sandy resident Andrew Watt, reminds us that there are meaningful things every resident can and should do to reduce their own impact. Things like not idling your car, using mass transit, working from home, and opting for crockpot use over gas stoves add up as more people take action. But as Watt points out, the majority of the impact depends on policy from the legislature.
“How long do we wait for meaningful improvements? Thirty more years? That would cost over $60 billion in health care and impact us all, particularly our children. “The payoff of reducing pollution would be huge in economic terms, and the benefits would be incalculable in terms of human life and health,” emphasizes Ben Abbott, professor at BYU,” Watt writes.
We need the legislature to limit water consumption for corporations, incentivize clean energy and mass transportation, and tighten mining and fossil fuel restrictions.