Something is horribly wrong when you wake up with a sore throat. You can’t see the mountains, your neighbor’s home is hardly visible. The air quality in SLC, and all of Northern Utah, for that matter, is a growing concern. It should be at the tip-top of our legislator’s ‘to do’ list…but it’s not. Yet. Thankfully, thousands of Salt-Lake residents have signed a petition addressed to Governor Herbert, asking for immediate action toward cleaner air. On Wednesday, a couple hundred of them braved the smog and cold to rally at the State Capitol Building on Capitol Hill. Protesters gathered on the south steps with face masks and signs. Fingers were pointed at commercial emitters such as Rio Tinto and Tesoro, as well as at our individual lifestyles. Doctors and environmentalists attended and spoke on the negative effects of air pollution, as well as its ties to asthma and autism.
The petition signatures and hand written letters, asking that the Governor hear the concerns of the community, went unheard for the time being; he ‘wasn’t there’. A bit of a let down, and an anticlimactic finish to the rally, yes. But — fingers crossed — he’ll feel the effects of the effort and do what he can to help fight for cleaner air.
