Has the air quality got you worried yet?

Is it time we do something about it?

A message from UPHE board member and emergency physician in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Tom Nelson:

Frightening truths that are separated from us by distance, be it physical or temporal, become less ominous and ugly. The further the separation, the easier it is to justify, argue, or simply ignore their reality. The ice caps haven’t completely melted, and we’re not all living on scorched earth, so how bad can global warming be? Social media commands our attention, and has begun to infiltrate the psyche of our most delicate and impressionable young minds, but we haven’t all plugged into the matrix just yet, so it’s all harmless fun still right? There are wars raging, but we have lit our candles and hung flags in front of our houses, and besides, we know those wars are way over there, and could never come here, right?

What’s harder to ignore is something that slaps you right in the face. Or, in the case of the Wasatch Valley air quality crisis, burns your nostrils, stings your eyes, scratches your throat, keeps that lingering cough around, and obscures your view of the beautiful mountains that circle our valley. 

If you have been anywhere near the Wasatch Valley in the last month, there’s simply no avoiding the disturbing gray haze that turns the sun an unnatural, pixelated pink and gives Salt Lake City the unnerving aura of an apocalyptic science fiction movie.

At what point do we become concerned? At what point do we make a plan? 

In the spirit of the new year, perhaps a top 10 list would be an appropriate way to recap where we are and where we are headed. And just for the hell of it, let’s stick with indisputable, undeniable, non-editorial facts:

1. On January 1, Salt Lake City rang in the new year with the worst air quality in the country. We had some of the worst air on planet earth, in fact. We were in a tie with Nairobi, Kenya, and just slightly more unhealthy than Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Our inversions are trapped pollution, a consequence of fossil fuel consumption by cars, planes, trains, and industry.
3. Air pollution permanently inhibits lung growth in children. 
4. Particulate pollution concentrations typical of the Wasatch Front increase mortality rates about 10% (according to the formula recommended by the American Heart Association published in May, 2010).
5. During fetal growth, tiny particles, chemicals and heavy metals found in air pollution can reach the fetal brain from the mother through the placenta where they can actually penetrate those new brain cells, change the chemical envelope of the chromosomes, and alter their destiny as the foundation of that person’s intellect, personality, behavior and emotional well-being.
6. In 2018, our elected officials took control of tax revenue and land use decisions for more than 25% of Salt Lake City to facilitate the construction of an ‘inland port’ – a giant freight transfer and warehousing facility proposed for the city’s northwest side. The  port will further harm our air quality, increase greenhouse gas emissions, create noise and light pollution, and harm critical wildlife habitat.
7. The Great Salt Lake is on a path to ecological collapse within the next decade.  The primary cause is the unsustainable amount of water that is diverted away from the lake every year. As the lake recedes, toxic dust storms originating from the exposed lakebed are ultimately inhaled by Utahns throughout the Wasatch Front.  Whereas these dust storms were rare a generation ago, now we have an average of fifteen a year. 
8. Due to some of the weakest state mining laws in the country, the Utah Division of Air Quality will almost certainly issue a permit for a huge new limestone quarry/gravel pit in the heart of Parley’s Canyon,  a decision that will not only permanently scar our landscape, but also exacerbate our air quality problems throughout the Valley.
9. Rio Tinto-Kennecott continues its contribution as our major industrial polluter, helping to make Salt Lake County one of the most toxic in the nation.
10. Every bit of this is man-made and within our control. Unfortunately, no one is simply going to solve this problem on our behalf. To the contrary; often times, the politicians we elect to look out for our best interests exacerbate the problem exponentially. It’s incumbent on all of us to do whatever we can to slow this disaster. We control our own ability to carpool, protest, conserve energy, become more energy efficient, elect politicians who actually care about the well-being of our community and not their private donors and bank accounts, hold the politicians we do elect accountable, show up to our community meetings and gatherings, and support those fighting the good fight. We owe it to ourselves to stay informed, educated, and unfortunately, outraged. Or, we can sit back, relax, and watch our beloved home become evermore uninhabitable.

Here’s to 2024. Instead of the disturbing gray we’ve all become accustomed to, may the future be clear and bright.