Find alternative transportation to cut down on pollution

You’ve probably had the experience of sitting behind a car at a red light that spews out a plume of smoke from its exhaust pipe when the light turns green. This form of pollution is one major contributor to Utah’s poor air quality.

According to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, ozone pollution is often a summertime phenomenon that occurs when natural ozone interacts with sunlight and byproducts of cars, refineries and other chemicals.

Although Utah as a whole has met the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard for hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, several counties, including Salt Lake County, have not achieved the ozone standard. According to the EPA, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and the Legislature have to submit a corrective course of action by March 12.

The Utah Office of Energy and Resource Planning reports that transportation accounts for nearly 30 percent of Utah’s air quality problems. Industrial operations take credit for 34 percent, and home and business heating emissions represent another 36 percent. Because a large chunk of air pollutants comes from cars, there are a couple of simple ways to alleviate the problem.

The first is to decide you will do your part to attack the issue. When can you ride TRAX instead of driving? When can you walk or ride a bike instead of taking your car?

Unhealthy ozone levels make it harder to breathe, particularly for the elderly, infants, people with asthma and others with lung diseases. However, ground-level ozone isn’t some terrible dark cloud that has to constantly hang over the valley. We can control these airborne pollutants by regularly getting our vehicles inspected and serviced. Well-maintained cars don’t puff out a brown-yellow haze.

Granted, Utah’s unique geographical makeup of the mountains, valley and extreme weather conditions contribute to bad air quality. There are also the vapors from industrial companies and the heating emissions from homes and businesses. But our own emissions aren’t beyond our control.

We can control the airborne toxins emitted by our cars by maintaining and limiting the use of our vehicles. Considering 30 percent of pollutants are auto emissions, imagine what a difference it would make if a significant portion of Utahns took that statement seriously. If you can walk to the store instead of driving, then walk. If you drive a clunker, be aware of the pollution you’re putting into the air if you ignore the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance schedule just to save a few bucks.

http://dailyutahchronicle.com/opinion/find_alternative_transportation_to_cut_down_on_pollution-1.1568832

Celeb drug use sets bad example

We all cheered him on as he did the impossible at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games by winning eight gold medals. Michael Phelps is in the spotlight again, but this time, it’s because he was photographed at a party in South Carolina holding a bong.

Questions are surfacing not only as to whether he will keep his endorsements and fans, but also if he will face charges on possession of marijuana. Phelps’ violation could be more severe because it is still unclear if he was smoking the drug on the University of South Carolina campus.

Sgt. Arb Nordgran with the U Police Department said charges for drug use can be more severe if the violation takes place on campus. At the U, he said drug use citations occur as frequently as everywhere else in the valley.

“We don’t have a drug problem any more than any other campus,” Nordgran said. “We’re a good community, and while you’ll always find a percentage that act out, there is the greater percentage of students that are here to get an education and mature.”

In 2008, nine citations were issued at the U for cases dealing with drug paraphernalia, and five arrests were made. The U saw 25 cases dealing with different kinds of drug citations, including calls to the pharmacy where someone obtained a drug illegally.

Marijuana possession is a class B misdemeanor in Utah, which often warrants a citation and fine. It is up to city prosecutors whether or not the offender will be arrested, but aside from its own impairing effects, marijuana is a gateway drug that often leads to the use of more dangerous substances.

Drug use is stupid because it impairs judgment and damages society. It is unfortunate when high-profile individuals, who for better or worse serve as role models, are caught engaging in stupid behaviors. It’s time for a zero-tolerance precedent to be set—yes, even for celebrities. Phelps should go sit in the pokey for a while.

http://dailyutahchronicle.com/opinion/1.1360155-1.1360155

Utah unlikely to benefit from stimulus package

The $819 million federal economic stimulus package promises to deliver $1 billion or more to Utah’s economy during the next two years. Although the stimulus package is intended to jump-start the economy while helping create and save Utah jobs, some state legislators are proposing to give it to construction crews.

State Energy Office Director Jason Berry said crews would work to retrofit buildings and schools, and help low-income Utahns weatherize their homes, making them more energy efficient.

This plan would create temporary jobs and lower energy bills for some, but when the money runs out, it will only be a drop in the bucket. If the government really wants to effectively jump-start the economy, it should lower payroll taxes so consumers will have more money to spend and pump through the economic pipeline, creating growth and value.

Since it’s inevitably coming, Utah needs to invest its portion of the federal government’s stimulus package in education, programs and infrastructure that create long-term economic growth for the state. Particularly at the U, a lot of research has been done on alternative energy and energy-efficient solutions. With funding, these projects have the potential to generate billions of dollars’ worth of energy.

U doctorate students have developed small devices capable of converting heat into sound and then electricity. This technology, an alternative to inefficient solar panels, holds promise for changing wasted heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars.

The truth is, $1 billion doesn’t go very far when looking at the budget and needs for the entire state. In Utah County, proposals have been made to expand and update Interstate 15. This project alone is estimated to cost $5 billion. The goal for the government should be to allocate funds in areas that will generate the most value for the most people.

The U.S. government should learn from past mistakes. A stimulus package, with no transparency, no debate and no accountability, will not work. It won’t work in Utah, and it won’t work anywhere else. As in the case of a kid who does chores to earn an allowance, the reward means more because it was earned. Money given freely to industries, government and big companies with no strings attached will do little more than create a bigger tax burden and debt for Americans in the long run.

http://dailyutahchronicle.com/opinion/utah_unlikely_to_benefit_from_stimulus_package-1.1355896