Utah Air Quality

I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Brian Moench, current President of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment’s abbreviated mission statement is, “Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment is dedicated to protecting the health and well-being of the citizens of Utah by promoting science based health education and interventions that result in progressive, measureable improvements to the environment.” http://uphe.org/about-us/goals-and-mission/ While this gives us a slight insight to the passion behind Dr. Moench’s work, the focus for my project relates to Utah’s air quality and the effects on Utah resident’s health. I have featured 4 different interactions with Dr. Moench to shed light on the difference he is trying to make in our community.

A most interesting and slightly humorous find, created by Dr. Moench is a cartoon written and illustrated by him back in 2000. The cartoon depicts a middle aged red headed woman who is a hospital patient, laying in a hospital bed situated in the dark, creepy basement of a hospital. The woman is surrounded by 4 dead bodies that have been covered up by a sheet. She is sitting up facing a hospital worker who says to her, “Well dear, this is your HMO’s idea of semi-private.” I found this cartoon on an online medical journal titled “Oncologist.” http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/5/6/531.3.full

From the article the writer says, “Dr. Moench’s levity helps to gently remind physicians and caregivers that, indeed, laughter is the best medicine.” I really enjoyed finding this insight to my character of focus and feel it breathed a relatability to someone I have never met. On a more serious note, we focus on the correlation of Dr. Moench and my local issue of concern, the air quality in Utah. Dr. Moench has been raising awareness about air pollution for over a decade and is serving the community by asking citizens to take the initiative to help fight for the air quality they deserve. From a website about the environment, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/05/02/unmasking-our-cities-air-pollution-will-require-local-state-and-federal-climate, Dr. Moench is a featured writer and shares some very important facts with the public. From the article, “Winter conditions trap pollution from vehicle emissions, buildings, homes and industries, intermittently earning Salt Lake City the dubious distinction of having the worst air quality in the nation.”

While Utah is a strong focus for local Dr. Brian Moench, he also focuses on the problems of pollution from a national level as well. The State of the Air Report, https://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/?utm_source=web&utm_medium=hmpg-promo&utm_campaign=StateOfTheAir2017
does indicate an overall improvement of air quality nationally but there are bigger concerns at bay. From the article on the site CommonDreams.org, Moench reminds us about the policies that have been responsible for the improvement. Moench says, “Members of Congress want to dismantle the Federal Clean Air Act, which is responsible for the air quality gains over the past 30 years.” If we don’t follow these cues from Dr. Moench and fight for the Clean Air Act to stay in place, we will be facing some bigger problems with air quality than we currently have.

Dr. Moench is a local celebrity to environmental followers in the Utah Valley. Weber State University recently hosted an event for Dr. Moench to share with the public his years of research and expertise regarding the state of our air quality in Utah. One of my favorite things about Dr. Moench is that he has a strong focus on the future generations, and how our choices today will leave an imprint on their lives and the lives of their children. From the advertisement about Dr. Moench’s event, https://www.weber.edu/WSUImages/environment/Brian%20Moench%20-%20physician.pdf
Moench’s quote has stood out to me, “You are what your grandparents inhaled, your grandchildren will be what you inhale.” This strong picture helps us to understand our responsibility in how our decisions today will affect the future generations to come.

In conclusion, I share with you some recent dialect from Dr. Moench that was featured in an article on 2/3/2019 on Fox 13 News, titled, “Fight over the Inland Port.” https://fox13now.com/2019/02/03/locals-upset-worried-inland-port-plan-in-salt-lake-city-will-hurt-air-quality/ This inland port has economic benefits, but environmental threats locally. While this decision will be made, without most local Utahan’s even aware of its possibility, situations like these have added to the air quality we are suffering in today. In a most concerning quote by Dr. Moench, “It could be in fact the worst source of air pollution that the Wasatch front has experienced in its modern day.” Coming from someone who has made the environment a strong focus of his life’s work, this quote really hit home for me. In closing I want to share one final quote from this same article, Moench says, “We’re not in desperate need of an economic stimulus, but we are in desperate need for clean air.”
I am proud to find such a dynamic individual living and working in our community to protect the current citizens and take into consideration the generations to come. It is our responsibility individually to consider our footprint, and how our daily living is adding to this issue at hand or helping to make an improvement to the air quality locally. With the threat of growing population in Utah, I am fearful for the future of our beautiful state and am strongly inspired but such great people like Dr. Moench.

Air Pollution is a common discussion amongst most people living in and around the Salt Lake Valley. The pollution is a problem that we can see, just by going outside a good amount of the time but highly focused during the winter months. The pollution in Utah is often referred to as the inversion, and has been an environmental focus for many decades. There are extreme negative health effects for people inhaling the air pollutants, we are yet to see the lasting damage the air pollution will do to the current generation and generations to come.

            The health effects of the air pollution in Utah affects every resident in Utah. The population in Utah that has the greatest health risks associated with the air pollution are; young children, developing babies still in the womb, and senior citizens. The reason this is the target group for my concern is that these people have a more sensitive immune system and a lower chance of being able to fight against the pollutants.

            The article, “Effects of Air Pollution is stirring illness in Salt Lake County,”  says that “Air quality in the Salt Lake Valley has actually improved since 1970 when the Clean Air Act was passed.” This information is quite surprising to me because from my own memory growing up in Utah, it appears to me that the air quality has gotten worse over the last decade rather than improving.  There are four ways that the air quality impacts health, from the article, the four reasons are, “Lessening Outdoor Activity, An Increase in Asthma Attacks, Increased Respiratory Problems, Decreased Lung Function, and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

            Just how bad is the air quality in Utah, from “the American Lung association ranked Salt Lake City as having the sixth-worst air quality in the nation, with a whopping F-grade in both ozone and particle pollution.” For Utah to be 6^th worst out of 50 states is a great concern to me, I also feel that this statement isn’t publicized as much as it should be. I hope if people develop a better understanding of this issue they will be more willing to work towards making the changes we need to improve the air quality.

            A local advocate on the air quality issue is Dr. Brian Moench, he has been involved in creating awareness and fighting for policy change regarding Utah’s air quality for decades. A current local issue regarding the air quality was discussed by Fox 13 News in an article titled, “Fight over the Inland Port.” The Inland Port that has been proposed to be added in Utah would create great economic benefits for the state, but the environmental threats of allowing this port to come to Utah may be beyond our comprehension. Dr. Moench feelings regarding this port, “It could be in fact the worse source of air pollution that the Wasatch front has experience in its modern day.” I think this warning from Dr. Moench should be heard, and this port should be avoided at all costs to protect the health of Utah citizens and future generations.

            Air pollution is a huge problem in Utah, and there are a lot of different variables to this issue. One thing to consider is, what is the solution to the problem at hand? From Policy Studies Journal, “Soft Transport Policies and Ground-Level Ozone: An Evaluation of the “Clear the Air Challenge” in Salt Lake City. The abstract from this journal offers one solution to improving air quality and I would hope that most Utahan’s would stand for this initiative if it was rolled out. From the abstract, “Voluntary or soft transportation policies have included air quality alert systems that encourage people not to drive on days when the air quality index is above a specified threshold and public education/action campaigns that focus on reducing automobile related travel.” I think this initiative could make a huge impact and would be overall great for the community. I hope to see this become a part of Utah’s way of living in the near future.

            While there a many people discussing this issues in Utah, few are finding immediate solutions to the problem. One group seems to be making serious headway in terms of the science behind the air pollution and key factors that could make a sizeable difference. This group is Air Quality, Science for Solutions. The group gathers and researches from all different areas come together to determine the best path for improvement. From the group’s website, www.harbor.werber.edu/Airqualityscience/ there is great abstracts from the conference. From the site the groups focus is, “The mission of this conference is to bridge divides that separate researches from various disciplines from each other, from professionals in the industrial and regulatory realms, and from the public, and to facilitate a cross-pollination of ideas working towards the development of solutions. While there isn’t an immediate solution, groups like this one give promise of improving the air quality and making a difference for Utah residents.