I’ve been coming to Utah to ski since I was seven — so, 37 years. I was born and raised in Chicago (a Bears fan), but my parents are from Iran, and I’ve also had the chance to go to Tehran, the capital, to ski there. Tehran and Salt Lake City are remarkably similar: giant, sprawling cities at the foothills of beautiful snow-capped mountains, with the Iranian ski resorts Dizin and Shemshak being the same one-hour-or-so drive up the canyon we make to Alta and Snowbird. Each city also has a sizable religious community — skiers who don’t drink — alongside plenty who enjoy a post-ski beer in the parking lot.
Because U.S. sanctions have barred Iranians from buying American cars for 40-plus years, Tehran’s streets are packed with older, higher-polluting vehicles. It is rare, nowadays, to be able to see the massive Alborz mountains that tower over the city.
Today, Salt Lake City has never resembled Tehran more: the mountains are almost completely obscured by smog, and I immediately got a headache and had to use my inhaler. The air quality is terrible.
People in Utah love the outdoors. Whether you drink beer or not, voted for Trump or hate him, no one likes poor air quality. Clean air and water have nothing to do with politics, religion or race. Cancer and asthma do not discriminate. Nobody wants to experience (or pay for) chemotherapy.
We might not have voted for Gov. Spencer Cox, but we should applaud his support for your statewide bike network that makes biking a viable transportation option. We might hate liberals, but conservatives can encourage elected officials to significantly expand public transportation, and fight for stringent environmental protections.
It’s not that deep: pollution in Salt Lake City is out of hand, and we need to fix it.
Cyrus Dowlatshahi, Chicago, Illinois
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