Letter: What would happen if Utah gained control over public lands? Its leaders’ response to pollution offers a clue.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Inversion conditions in the Salt Lake valley trap pollution as air quality continues to deteriorate on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.
I was driving through Salt Lake City on Dec. 5. The air quality was so bad the mountains weren’t visible. (Yes, I realize I’m part of the problem).
I was listening to a news cast about the state of Utah’s attempt to gain control over the public lands in Utah. Utah is spending millions of tax dollars in its ongoing crusade against the feds, and their alleged mismanagement of a public resource. However, Utah’s leaders seem content to let the majority of its population live in a fog of seriously health-threatening, polluted air.
Looking at the state’s response to the Wasatch Front’s air quality problems and the health threats from a dying Great Salt Lake, putting Utah’s politicians in charge of another vital public resource, our public lands, won’t end well for most of us.
David Hensel, Boulder
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