Dr. Moench Op Ed: Clean Air and Education
January 27th, 2020
UPHE’s board president and founder, Dr. Brian Moench, has an Op Ed in the SL Tribune on a new idea on how to improve education for Utah’s school children. Even
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Report on the Port: Common Sense vs. the Utah Inland Port
January 27th, 2020
Last Wednesday, January 22, the Stop the Polluting Port coalition released its report outlining the potential environmental harms from the proposed Utah Inland Port: Common Sense vs. the Utah Inland
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KPCW: Replace Wood Burning Appliances
January 22nd, 2020
Jonny Vasic, Executive Director for UPHE, and Shellie Barrus, Executive Director for Summit County Habitat for Humanity, were on KPCW Radio to discuss the Burn Smart program and how Summit
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Stop the Uinta Basin Railway
January 22nd, 2020
UPHE is part of the Stop the Unita Basin Railway coalition, and we are happy to announce the launch of the new website opposing the Uinta Basin Railway oil train:
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Common Sense vs. the Utah Inland Port
January 22nd, 2020
This morning the Stop the Pollution Port coalition, UPHE included, held a press event for the release of our report outlining the harms that will come from the proposed Utah
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Update on Diesel Bro Lawsuit
January 15th, 2020
Here is the latest update on UPHE’s lawsuit to hold the Diesel Brothers accountable for illegally dismantling and removing pollution control devices from diesel trucks. “Attorneys for an environmental group
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Vehicle Related Pollution – Not all from the Tail Pipe
January 14th, 2020
We often hear about vehicle tail pipe emissions as our biggest air pollution culprit. To that end Gov. Herbert just made another plea for everyone to buy Tier 3 gasoline.
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A Victory against a Fracking Sand Mine near Kanab
January 14th, 2020
It’s easy to get discouraged about our environment these days. At the state and federal level it can feel like we are overrun by politicians and business people that seemingly
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KRCL: 7 Misconceptions about Air Pollution
January 10th, 2020
UPHE Execuative Director, Jonny Vasic, and President, Dr. Brian Moench, discussed our recent Op Ed about the seven deadly misconceptions about our air pollution on KRCL. You can hear the
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Australia Fires
January 10th, 2020
The apocalyptic wildfires now incinerating Australia continue virtually unabated with months yet to go in their “fire season.” The number of animals lost, like koala bears and kangaroos, is now
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Trump, Return to the Paris Agreement
January 6th, 2020
The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health has prepared an open letter to President Donald J. Trump on their web page on January 2 asking him to make a
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Research on Air Pollution
January 6th, 2020
RESEARCH OF THE MONTH: UPDATED DEC. 23, 2019 Collected by Dr. Brian Moench To read full report with sources visit our New Research page here. Published in one of the
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Air Pollution from Drying Lake Dust
December 18th, 2019
A study just published by researchers at BYU shows that 90% of the dust that contributes to Wasatch Front air pollution comes from drying lake beds, like the Great Salt
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7 DEADLY MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT OUR AIR QUALITY
December 16th, 2019
Written by Dr. Brian Moench The Bible teaches that if we want to go to heaven we must avoid seven deadly sins — pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and
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Seven deadly misconceptions about our air quality
December 16th, 2019
In the Salt Lake Tribune, UPHE had an Op Ed written by Dr. Brian Moench that outlines seven misconceptions about air pollution. Read full list bellow. If we are going
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Measures to reduce air pollution quickly result in big health benefits
December 16th, 2019
New research reviewing evidence from around the world, shows that reducing air pollution can result in dramatic improvement in public health almost immediately, and the benefits can far outweigh the
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Coverage on the Demand for better EPA Pollution Standards for Plastic Manufacturers
December 9th, 2019
Recently, several environmental groups, including UPHE, delivered a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demanding that they stop approving petrochemical projects that produce millions of tons of plastic
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Doctors warn of long-term impact from short-term bad air quality
December 9th, 2019
POSTED 10:49 AM, DECEMBER 5, 2019, BY ELLE THOMAS, UPDATED AT 11:37AM, DECEMBER 5, 2019 SALT LAKE CITY — While bad air quality continues to plague parts of the Wasatch Front, doctors
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Lack of Oil & Gas Industry Oversight by the State
December 5th, 2019
Utah made it to the national news again, and not in a good way. UPHE is mentioned in a story by Bloomberg news about the scandalous lack of oversight of
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The EPA’s Failure: Chemical Disasters
December 2nd, 2019
During the Obama Administration the EPA put a new Chemical Disaster Rule in place to strengthen chemical plants’ prevention and preparedness requirements for explosions and other catastrophes. The rule also
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We Don’t Want a Natural Gas Plant in Utah
November 27th, 2019
The Intermountain (coal-fired) Power Plant at Delta is scheduled to be shut down by 2025, and that’s a very good thing. It is currently the largest source of power for
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City Weekly: The Kids are Not Alright
November 27th, 2019
We are on the doorstep of our usual winter inversion season, and the forecast predicts inversion to begin next week. The timing of the The City Weekly’s lead article, The
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Utah Stories Interviews Dr. Moench about Air Quality
November 12th, 2019
On November 7th, Utah Stories did a lengthy interview with Dr. Brian Moench, UPHE president and founder, discussing the latest medical studies on air pollution. The studies demonstrate that poor
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Killer Pesticides for the Inland Port – Op Ed
November 4th, 2019
In an Op Ed in the SL Tribune, UPHE President, Dr. Brian Moench, explains how the pesticides that will likely be used for suppression of mosquitoes with the development of
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Lead Prevention Week
October 28th, 2019
October 20th – 26th was National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Awareness of lead poisoning is important, especially in Utah where children and pregnant women are at risk as evidenced by
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Increased US Air Pollutants
October 24th, 2019
Fox 13 did a good job of addressing the national story that in the US, for the first time in many years, the air pollution is getting worse. This increase
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Port Board Meeting & Public Opposition
October 22nd, 2019
Thanks to everyone who came out to the official “port” meeting yesterday and either protested or testified. It is very important that the obvious public resistance to this “terrible, horrible,
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Mayoral Candidates & How the Port Became the #1 Issue
October 21st, 2019
The dirty energy inland port is THE issue in the race for Salt Lake City Mayor. Robert Gehrke of the Salt Lake Tribune gives a brief but important explanation of
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UDOT Turning the Legacy Parkway into a Freeway
October 21st, 2019
UPHE condemns the move by UDOT to turn the Legacy Parkway into just another freeway, increasing the speed limit and allowing big rig trucks. The Desert News published an article
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Press Conference Addressing Inland Port Construction
October 17th, 2019
UPHE joined other groups at a press conference on October 16, 2019 in calling for an immediate cessation of warehouse construction activity in the one area within the port boundaries
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Envision Utah’s Report on the Port
October 15th, 2019
Envision Utah released their 241-page report about the public perception of the Utah Inland Port, and the feedback from the report was overwhelmingly clear: Utahns are concerned about the environmental impacts the
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Dioxins
October 9th, 2019
Dioxins have long been recognized as near the top of a long list of the most toxic chemicals. Human exposure to dioxins comes from industrial emissions, incinerators, and wood and
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Fixing illegally modified diesel trucks
September 25th, 2019
Ogden Standard Examiner ran a nice article about the status of our lawsuit against the Diesel Brothers. This new development is the agreement that UPHE signed with Davis County to
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Letter: Myths about the inland port
September 24th, 2019
This is in response to the guest editorial by Mr. Derek Miller, Port Board Authority Chairman, that appeared in the Deseret News on August 28. As the leaders of several
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Mosquitoes are a big problem for the inland port
September 20th, 2019
On the front page of Sunday’s Salt Lake Tribune there is an important article on an inland port issue that so far has gotten much less attention than it deserves.
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2019 SLC VegFest
September 16th, 2019
Jonny, Georgie, and Bert had a great time representing UPHE at the 2019 SLC VegFest on Saturday, September 14th. We were able to education festival goers on two main topics
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Letter to Herbert on Rainforest
September 16th, 2019
On September 16th, 2019 UPHE, Center for Biological Diversity, Great Salt Lake Audubon, SLC Air Protectors, and Utah Moms for Clean Air sent a letter to Governor Gary Herbert urging
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Death by Coorporation on KRCL
September 16th, 2019
On Thursday evening, Sept. 12, our President, Dr. Brian Moench, and Executive Director, Jonny Vasic, were on KRCL’s radioactive program discussing “barefoot economics,” a more sustainable philosophy of economic growth,
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Utah physicians group suing auto parts store for alleged environmental violations
September 10th, 2019
“As a community, we should be doing everything we can to clean up our air,” said Dr. Brian Moench, the president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. “I think
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Utah Physicians Sue 4 Wheel Parts
September 6th, 2019
Utah Physicians Sue 4 Wheel Parts for Selling Pollution Control Defeat Devices 4 Wheel Parts charged with selling and installing defeat parts that increase harmful air pollution along Utah’s Wasatch Front (September
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Clean out Utah’s Bad Air
August 29th, 2019
All air pollution matters. Even small increases cause significant damage to public health, affecting virtually all of us, even if we don’t have obvious symptoms. By Brian Moench Aug 29, 2019, 10:00am MDTFor
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The Amazon is Burning
August 26th, 2019
At UPHE we try hard to focus on state and local issues, and our number one priority is air quality. The important theme this week has been what air pollution
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Press Conference About the Dangers of Ozone
August 22nd, 2019
UPHE held a press conference on Tuesday, August 21, 2019 to discuss a new study from the Journal of American Medical Association that details the danger of ozone pollution, an
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Fireworks, Health and Air Quality
August 15th, 2019
Some people may not like to hear it or want to go without fireworks to celebrate the 4th and 24th of July, but these pyrotechnic displays also produce high concentrations
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Environmental groups raise alarm over mislabeled nuclear waste shipments through Utah
August 15th, 2019
By Lee Davidson · Published: July 29 Updated: July 29, 2019 Environmental activists say Utahans living near freeways and railroads may have been endangered by recent shipments of incorrectly labeled radioactive waste headed to
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Politicians and Pollution
August 15th, 2019
Politicians at every level play a huge role in solving or not solving our environmental problems, especially our air pollution. There is currently a controversy over some SLC mayoral candidates
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Eat Less Meat
August 15th, 2019
The latest UN report on the climate crisis spells out how meat intensive diets, poor agricultural and land use practices and deforestation are major contributors to the alarming climate trends.
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Pollinators and Pesticides
August 15th, 2019
According to a National Geographic article, “America’s agricultural landscape is now 48 times more toxic to honeybees, and likely other insects, than it was 25 years ago, almost entirely due
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Air Pollution and the Inland Port
August 15th, 2019
Written by Dr. Brian Moench Thousands of studies have established that air pollution is a broad-based health hazard, provoking a long list of diseases very similar in type and scope
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Ozone is Comparable to Smoking
August 15th, 2019
When UPHE was formed in 2007, we compared air pollution to smoking cigarettes. For example, air pollution typical of winter inversions was the equivalent of smoking cigarettes, about a half
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Groups sue over Alton Coal mine expansion in southern Utah
April 18th, 2019
By Amy Joi O’Donoghue, KSL | Posted – Apr 16th, 2019 @ 4:09pm SALT LAKE CITY — Multiple environmental groups teamed up Tuesday to file a lawsuit against the U.S.
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Trump Administration Ignores Environmental Impacts of Mining 30 Million Tons of Coal near Bryce Canyon National Park
April 17th, 2019
Lawsuit Seeks Improved Pollution and Climate Analysis of the Alton Coal Mine Expansion in Utah Tuesday, April 16, 2019 SALT LAKE CITY, UT – A lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s
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UPHE Prevails in Major Lawsuit
March 21st, 2019
Immediate Release Thursday, March 14, 2019 Contacts: Dr. Brian Moench – Board President, UPHE 801-243-9089 drmoench@yahoo.com Reed Zars – Attorney 307-760-6268 reed@zarslaw.com Jonny Vasic – Executive Director, UPHE 385-707-3677 jvasicuphe@gmail.com UTAH PHYSICIANS FOR
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‘Diesel Brothers’ held liable for violating Clean Air Act
March 15th, 2019
The end of a long lawsuit against the Diesel Brothers confirmed complaints that they were not complying with the Clean Air Act and Utah Law, are true. The Utah Physicians
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VICTORY: UPHE Prevail in Major Lawsuit; read the courts decision.
March 15th, 2019
2019 3-12 UPHE v. Diesel Brothers summary judgment decision: VICTORY: UPHE Prevail in Major Lawsuit; read the courts decision: (pdf download) 2019 3-12 UPHE v. Diesel Brothers summary judgment decision
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UPHE ED, Jonny Vasic, has Op Ed in the Tribune about the dangers of the dirty inland port
February 21st, 2019
Commentary: Inland port is an air quality disaster waiting to happen Last summer The Salt Lake Tribune ran an editorial on the proposed inland port. The editorial acknowledged what few lawmakers
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Dr. John MacFarlane is featured in the Salt Lake Tribune
October 11th, 2018
UPHE’s newest member of the Board of Directors, John MacFarlane, is featured in this Tribune article about the health issues associated with the expansion plans of Geneva Rock’s gravel mine at
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UPHE Op Ed on Geneva in the Deseret News
September 12th, 2018
UPHE Board President, Dr. Brian Moench, has an Op Ed in the Deseret News on Wed. Sept. 12, on why we should not allow expansion of the Geneva Gravel Pit.