The saying goes, “the solution to pollution is dilution.” The wind will blow it away.
That’s a delusion. It’s only partially true. Winds can blow some of our harmful air pollution elsewhere — away from local sources of pollution, to harm people and nature elsewhere.
But some of the pollution (such as CO2 and other gasses from burning fossil fuels) contributes to planet-warming greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, which in turn, will harm both us along the Wasatch Front and all nature, regardless of where the wind takes it.
The only real solution to pollution is: Stop polluting!
Of course, that’s difficult to do. Witness the open or subtle resistance (especially by some corporate and political interests) to replacing dirty, harmful fossil fuels with clean, safe, renewable energy.
So how can pollution be stopped, or at least greatly reduced to give us sufficiently clean, clear, healthy air to breathe (especially during inversions), and so we can clearly see the world-class natural beauty that surrounds us?
To achieve the desired clean air, we need highly motivated, capable, governmental leaders who will step up and pass strong, fair, effective and readily enforceable legislation that will sufficiently curb the generation of air pollutants from its numerous sources, including transportation, commercial and industrial sources, buildings and power generation.
To clean the air, our leaders must create and pass effective legislation that will expeditiously replace fossil fuels with clean, safe, renewable fuels, and energy, such as generated by solar, wind, water and geothermal.
Nuclear energy is dangerous. It’s not clean, safe or renewable. Let’s not delude ourselves. If our current elected officials won’t do what’s needed to clean the air ASAP, they must be replaced with those who are up to the job.
James Westwater, Spanish Fork
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