This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Declare health emergency in Utah due to smog, docs say" (Tribune, Jan. 24):
Utah's Physicians for a Healthy Environment say our poor air quality annually contributes to 1,500 premature deaths. They want Gov. Gary Herbert to declare a "health emergency."
They want freeway speed limits reduced to 55 mph, free mass transit, make industrial polluters, including Kennecott and oil refineries, to cut pollution in half, close businesses that burn waste and prohibit wood burning.
Recently on KUER, the governor's spokesperson said there is no "health emergency," although the air is "unhealthy" for some groups. That's easy for our Marie Antoinette governor to say; he lives in a protected bubble and never has to go out in the air like the rest of us.
Well, when the governor gives his state of the state address to the Legislature Wednesday, let's surround the Capitol with 100,000 people shouting, "Clean up this air!" When our clueless leaders see the huddled masses yearning to breathe free revolting, maybe they will do something.
They don't do anything when they see the revolting air. Eyes that cannot see.
Jim Stark
Salt Lake City