The Big Picture – The Climate Crisis (The Trump Admin., Fossil Fuels, Great Salt Lake)
Numerous Trump administration changes in policy are impacting Utah and Utahns. From cuts in funding for cancer research, to weakening wildfire response, these actions pose growing risks to public safety and ecological resilience.
One of the most alarming moves is the administration’s broad rollback of climate protections. To start of 2025, and his second term, Trump declared a “national energy emergency” despite the US “producing more oil and gas than any other country in the world, at any point in history.” Like most of this administration’s moves in this arena, the action contradicts the data, the science and the opinion of experts. Utah is impacted because the rollback of regulations meant to protect the public’s health and reduce our impact on the climate crisis allowed for a delay of the closures of two of the dirtiest power plants in the US, right here in Utah.
“We can’t move faster than the pace of technology if we want a reliable and resilient energy grid,” Utah Senator John Curtis said, defending the industry. However, the technology is there to make these plants safer and to transition to less harmful energy alternatives. The problem isn’t technical limitations—it’s the fossil fuel industry’s unwillingness to invest in the health and safety of the communities where they operate.
To take it a step further from the deceptive “emergency,” Trump’s EPA now says greenhouse gases don’t endanger people. They’re attempting to undo the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which allows the Clean Air Act to regulate pollutants from burning fossil fuels, such as carbon dioxide and methane.
But science says otherwise. Greenhouse gas emissions are not only fueling a hotter, less stable climate—they are also directly harming human health. Research published in journals like The Lancet and Environmental Health Perspectives shows that rising levels of carbon pollution contribute to more intense heatwaves, worsening air quality, and the spread of disease. Exposure to air pollution from burning fossil fuels has been linked to increased rates of respiratory illness, heart disease, stroke, premature birth, and even early death. Vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and those with preexisting conditions, are especially at risk. Failing to regulate these emissions isn’t just bad policy; it’s a public health crisis in the making.
Find a PLETHORA of research contradicting the Trump administration’s claims on our website.
The public comment period on the EPA reversal of the endangerment finding is open until Sept. 15. Utah’s leaders have proven they will not take any extra or unrequired steps to protect our health. We NEED the federal mandates.
UPHE is proud to use scientific research to back our advocacy for the health of our communities.
More on the climate crisis from UPHE Climate Ambassador, Dr. Mark Goldfarb ↓
One of the most evident examples of the climate crisis in Utah is Great Salt Lake
Although upstream diversions and irresponsible management play a huge role in what got us where we are with the lake today (scary low level), the impact of climate change is undeniable. Heat-record breaking summers and dwindling snowpack have not helped the situation with Great Salt Lake.
On top of the Trump administration’s attempted acceleration of the climate crisis through increasing fossil fuel production, they are looking to change the ‘waters of the U.S.’ definition, to exclude seasonal streams and wetlands, which more than 79% of the water in the Great Salt Lake basin comes from.
Removing Clean Water Act protections from seasonal streams and wetlands would cut off the primary water sources feeding the Great Salt Lake, accelerating its shrinkage and ecological collapse.
The continued loss of water flowing to the Great Salt Lake would have devastating consequences for Utah, as the exposed lakebed turns into a vast source of toxic dust. This dust—laden with arsenic, mercury, and other harmful pollutants—gets carried by wind into nearby communities, worsening air quality and increasing the risk of respiratory diseases, heart problems, and even premature death. These dust storms not only endanger public health but also threaten agriculture, tourism, and the economy at large. Narrowing the definition of protected waters undermines decades of investment in watershed restoration and jeopardizes one of Utah’s most urgent public health and environmental priorities.