Air Quality

Utah Thrives — Better Air Quality Begins at Home

Written by: Dan Bammes

Efforts to improve Utah’s notorious winter air quality have focused on vehicles and industrial sources. But it turns out significant pollution comes from furnaces and water heaters in our homes. That problem has been getting some attention in the current legislative session. Efforts are underway to encourage the installation of new, cleaner water heaters in new construction. They emit far lower levels of nitrogen oxides, or NOx. The NOx fumes react in the air to … Continued

Utah Thrives — Legislative Action on Air Quality

Written by: Dan Bammes

With the legislative session set to begin in a few days, air quality will once again be a concern for Utah’s state senators and representatives. Whether it has the same political urgency as it has in past years may depend on just how polluted the air gets – and the view from Capitol Hill. Utah Foundation’s Dan Bammes talks with two members of Utah’s Legislature, Democratic Representative Patrice Arent and Republican Representative Steve Eliason, about … Continued

Waiting for Tier 3: How Soon Will Cleaner Gasoline Come to Utah?

Written by: Dan Bammes

Salt Lake City disappears in a haze of particulate air pollution – January 17, 2015 Utah Governor Gary Herbert has been asking the oil refineries that serve the Utah market to make gasoline that meets the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 3 standard available as soon as possible. Gasoline refined to the cleaner Tier 3 standard could have a dramatic effect on Utah’s air quality, since the majority of the pollution that gets trapped in … Continued

Top Research Findings of 2014: Part III

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Two reports took the four top spots in 2014.     4: The particularities of current water usage in Utah…   In the second most arid climate in the nation, a vast majority of our water is used in agriculture and to keep our Kentucky blue grass green. (Flowing Toward 2050, released in September 2014.)     3: “…decreases have not necessarily translated into fewer high pollution days.”   Utah (and the U.S.) has been … Continued