This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

We Utahns know that our polluted air is one of the few drawbacks to living here. According to a 2015 report by the American Lung Association (certainly a nonpartisan group), Salt Lake City is the seventh most polluted city in the nation for short-term particulate pollution — the stuff in our inversions. This report award Salt Lake County a grade of "F" on its air quality report card.

Some people argue that the air in Salt Lake has been worse before. That's true, but we once had coal burning plants and smelters right in town and used leaded gasoline! Just because we've made progress doesn't mean that we shouldn't do more, or that we should accept our still very unhealthy air. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment reminds us that, among many other adverse effects, "pregnant women exposed to more air pollution give birth to babies with significantly more chromosomal aberrations … which can be passed on to multiple subsequent generations." It's sad that not even harming our babies seems to be enough to get anything done to clean up our air in the Legislature or in Washington. As a new mother I am concerned for my baby boy as well as for my future children.

This is why I am supporting Charlene Albarran for U.S. Congress from Utah's 2nd Congressional District. Despite being on the Subcommittee on the Environment (and, perversely, previously chairing it), my current congressman has done nothing to improve the air in Salt Lake or anywhere in the country. Instead, he has denied climate change (funny, given his old company offers courses to write climate change impact statements for the government) and taken ample donations from the fossil fuel industry and other polluters. According to the current congressman's own webpage, he "launched the Federal Land Action Group, a congressional team that will develop a legislative framework for transferring public lands to local ownership and control." He has even sponsored a bill to prevent scientists from testifying before Congress. The North Korean government might even blush at such comical efforts to block the free discussion of ideas!

Charlene Albarran, in contrast, believes in science. She believes in making sure that our children can breathe relatively clean air. And she knows that investments in clean energy and public transportation will more than pay for themselves in economic growth. The clean energy industry is already fast-growing and will create an enormous number of jobs in the next few decades. Also, instead of offering the false argument that we can't improve air quality because doing so would deter companies from moving here, Albarran understands that many companies are in fact moving here so their employees can enjoy Utah's natural splendor. The Silicon Slopes are becoming Slippery Slopes.

Air pollution is a local issue in part, and of course our cities and Legislature should be doing much more. But it's also a national issue, and what Congress and the EPA do affects every-day life in our valley. It matters that the current congressman voted to support a measure blocking the EPA from making new ozone — smog — standards. Just think about the absurdity someone in Congress representing Salt Lake not even supporting anti-smog legislation!

Charlene Albarran will put public health and the quality of life ahead of party, and science ahead of ideology. She will support moderate, common sense measures to protect our natural environment that will enhance economic growth, and, above all, she will remember that her constituents breathe the air in Salt Lake Valley, not the fumes of extreme anti-environmentalism.

Katie Baucom is a new mother who lives in Salt Lake City.