But the EPA's warning isn't needed. My lungs and my eyes tell me the air is bad. One thing I notice now is how, even in summer, our air resembles that of San Bernardino, Calif., where the real sun never shines, only a hazy imitation of it. Salt Lake City is fast becoming a new Los Angeles, complete with perpetual smog. Yet we merrily continue to fund new highway projects.
I challenge Gov. Jon Huntsman to be the leader who helped Utah avoid L.A.'s fate. Here are some suggestions:
* Impose a moratorium on all Wasatch Front highway projects.
* Make mass transit free for everyone.
* Pay for free mass transit by imposing an extra $250 per vehicle registration fee.
* Impose a further air quality penalty of $250 on all vehicles whose average miles-per-gallon is less than 20, all proceeds to go toward pollution amelioration.
* Initiate a five-year plan to replace state vehicles with maximally fuel-efficient hybrids.
* Ban all two-stroke engines.
* Ban construction of new coal-fired power plants.
Ed Firmage, Jr.
Salt Lake City
