What the youth are doing
Students at Utah Valley University are asking people to give the gift of clean air by taking public transportation.
For UVU student Caitlyn Bennett, winter is a time too often filled with health issues and hospital visits.
“For most, December consists of 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers piping, 10 lords a-leaping and so on,” Bennett said for a KSL article. “For me, December consists of 12 ER visits, 11 IVs and 10 calls to my mom, letting her know I’m in the hospital.”
When Bennett was 16 years old, she was diagnosed with severe asthma and vocal chord dysfunction.
“It wasn’t until a little while after I received my diagnosis that I learned that a large contributing factor to my health was the air quality,” Bennett said.
This is one of the reasons that Bennett, along with other UVU Sustainability Clean Air Campaign students on Wednesday, unveiled their new Give the Gift of Clean Air campaign, encouraging students and community members alike to make a pledge to utilize public transportation in an effort to reduce emissions.
We applaud the UVU students and echo their Christmas plea to everyone on the Wasatch Front.
A UCLA article writes “Every vehicle on the road releases an average of one pound of CO2 per mile driven. Compared with driving alone, taking public transportation reduces CO2 emissions by 45%, decreasing pollutants in the atmosphere and improving air quality. It’s estimated that public transportation in the U.S. saves 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, and even moderate increases in bicycle use each year could save an estimated 6 to 14 million tons.”