This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Yesterday I was driving to my home in Eden from a trip to Southern Utah. When I reached the Provo area, the smog was so thick it was hard to see all but the snow-capped tops of the mountains. Salt Lake was terrible as well, not a mountain visible.
Every time I drive past the refineries I have to hold my breath because it smells so bad. Eden is on the backside of the Wasatch, so normally we are somewhat protected from the foulest air. Last year, however, I had to drive my 11-year-old son over the mountain every day for school. At the summit of the North Ogden divide, most days I could see the thick layer of smog, not haze, blanketing the whole valley. Last January, he couldn't go out for recess for the whole month because of the red air quality days.
We are no longer free as citizens if we are not even free to go outside. I appreciate the state's work on a plan to meet federal Clean Air Act guidelines. However, we need more cuts in air pollution to make our valleys even safer.
Jessie Browning Paul
Eden