Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘public health’

Jun 18

2 Comments

Air Quality & COVID-19

In the months following our collective action to flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases, the air quality improved around the globe. According to University of Utah research, particulate matter pollution in Salt Lake City was reduced 59% as of May 6.

The collective social distancing practices resulted in reducing our community’s overall emissions – and cleaning up Utah’s notoriously bad air. But the lockdowns were an impermanent (and unfortunate) solution: as more cities reopen, emissions – and COVID-19 cases – are again on the rise.

Although Salt Lake City is maintaining an “orange” status for our COVID-19 response, there has been an uptick in cases across Utah. In a city in which public health is harmed by poor air quality, any virus that affects the respiratory system is cause for concern. However, with the knowledge that stay at home orders temporarily reduced our local air pollution, we can learn more about possible ways of improving air quality in the future.

Let’s take a closer look at the ways air quality and COVID-19 interact – and some ways you can help protect the air and each other.

Photo of inversion in Salt Lake valley.
Read more

Dec 5

1 Comment

We've Got the December Bad Air Blues

The view from the SLCgreen office on Dec. 4, 2019.

With a week of air that has been some of the worst in the country, it’s no wonder we’re all feeling frustrated. Salt Lake City’s current air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups and requires mandatory action of limited driving and no wood burning. For most of us, Salt Lake City’s notoriously bad air is a nuisance and health concern, limiting our activities and turning our skyline grey. Moreover, pollutants like PM 2.5 are dangerous, especially for older residents, children, pregnant women, and people with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Air quality is a public health concern, as well as an economic one.

It may come as a surprise that although transportation currently contributes nearly half of the emissions causing Salt Lake City’s bad air, buildings are catching up. Indeed, houses and buildings currently contribute roughly 38% of emissions, and industry point sources produce the other 13%. As emissions standards on cars are becoming more strict, managing emissions from houses and buildings is a growing priority.

PM 2.5 is the primary winter concern in Salt Lake City’s airshed. The particulate matter poses serious health risks and gets trapped in the Salt Lake valley during inversion. Most of the PM 2.5 is a direct result of precursor emissions from tailpipes, smokestacks, and chemicals that mix to form PM 2.5 in the atmosphere.

When you look outside, it may feel like there’s no good news. However, per capita pollution in Utah is decreasing. Salt Lake City is taking steps to help clean the air and protect our public health and environment. Find out how you can keep our airshed (and lungs!) clean and healthy.

What is SLC doing?

Reducing combustion and emissions are a key step towards cleaning the air.

Salt Lake City has many air quality initiatives in place that are helping clean the air. Among these include the continued expansion of EV infrastructure, expanding cleaner vehicles in our fleet, and implementing our energy benchmarking ordinance for nearly 1,000 commercial buildings. Additionally, the HIVE pass provides residents with access to UTA’s public transit system at a reduced cost.

Salt Lake City built the nation’s first Net Zero energy Public Safety Building.
In 2018, Salt Lake City converted five parking enforcement vehicles to all-electric Chevy Bolts. As of Oct. 2019, the Salt Lake City fleet has over 135 hybrids, 32 all-electric vehicles, 72 compressed natural gas heavy duty vehicles, and 117 clean diesel heavy duty vehicles.

Read more

Oct 24

Go Batty for Bats this Halloween!

Halloween is here and things are getting extra spooky. Whether you’re out trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, or just enjoying the fall weather, take a minute to celebrate some of Halloween’s most iconic creatures: Bats!

While bats may seem scary, like spiders they are an important part of our ecosystems. Not only do they help control insect populations, reducing the need for pesticides, they are also major pollinators.

It just so happens that Halloween marks the last day of International Bat Week. So in honor of our winged friends, here are some fun facts about bats.

Bats of Utah Poster from www.wildawareutah.org

Insatiable Insectivores

There are eighteen species of bats in Utah, and over 1,300 species world wide. Bugs make up the primary diet of most bats. And a single bat can eat thousands of insects each night! For smaller bats, that can mean eating close to their body weight in insects!

By controlling insect populations, bats help reduce the need for toxic pesticides. As a result, bats also help farmers save money by serving as natural defenses against insect damage to crops. Moreover, by diminishing our dependence on pesticides, bats also help protect our food and health.

Pollinating by Night

While most bats are insectivores, many species consume nectar and fruit – and are important pollinators! Indeed, bats are responsible for pollinating over 300 species of fruit including bananas and mangoes. They also help pollinate the plants that are used to make different kinds of medicine.

Bats also help disperse seeds!

Keeping Bats and Humans Safe

One common misconception about bats is they are blood-suckers. Although the vampire bat does consume the blood of other animals, bats don’t attack humans. Bats can carry rabies and other diseases, so it is important to remember that handling bats isn’t safe for you or the bat.

Besides habitat destruction, one of the biggest threats to bats is White-Nose Syndrome, a fungus that is causing mass deaths of hibernating bats. You can lower their chances of exposure by avoiding caves where there may be hibernating bat colonies.

Bats are wonderful animals who play an important role as pollinators and insectivores. By giving bats space and protecting their habitats, we can keep humans and bats safe!

Please join us in celebrating the role of bats in our ecosystem by commemorating Bat Week! Share this blog or Bat Week’s page on your social media pages.

Or perhaps you have your costume dilemma solved for Halloween? . . .

Whatever it is– let’s show the bats in our environment some love!

Sep 19

It’s Not Too Late: Go Pesticide Free!

Since last spring, little green hexagonal signs have been blooming in Salt Lake City gardens. These Pesticide Free Yard signs are part of the Salt Lake City Pesticide Free Campaign in partnership with Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF). HBBF encourages residents to protect our families and the environment by eliminating pesticide use.

Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Department teamed up with Beyond Pesticides to guide residents who want to keep their gardens beautiful without using harmful chemicals. And it’s working! Since 2018, over 340 individuals have pledged to go pesticide free.

And even though summer is coming to a close, you can still go pesticide free in your yard. Eliminating your use of toxic chemicals is a year-round challenge that will protect your family and neighborhood.

Read more

Aug 15

3 Comments

Welcome Supreet Gill!

Supreet Gill is SLCgreen’s new Sustainability Program Manager.

SLCgreen is thrilled to welcome Supreet Gill to the Sustainability Department as our new Program Manager!

Supreet brings 15 years of experience in community food systems and a passion for improving urban and ecological resilience through sustainable agriculture and equitable community engagement.

Supreet has engaged in food systems on all levels — as a farmer, program manager for a refugee agriculture project, coordinator of urban farming and farm to school programs, and nutrition educator, to name a few!

In her prior position with Salt Lake County’s Urban Farming and Open Space program, she worked on numerous projects focusing on public lands management and community food systems. She also served on Salt Lake City’s Food Policy Task Force (now Food Policy Council) and has deep connections in the local food community.

As Sustainability Department program manager, Supreet will continue building our existing programs as well as developing new ones to strengthen the capacity of community residents and leaders to enhance the regional food system.

In short, her work is dedicated to improving community health and well-being, as well as making sure all residents have access to healthy, affordable, local food.

That goal entails a deep focus on community partnerships. She’ll continue making connections in the community– with farmers, local food producers, and other stakeholders. She’ll also work to ensure that communities, groups, and individuals with lower-access to resources are involved as deeply as possible in Salt Lake City’s work.

Finally, Supreet’s role will also include bridging with other government entities– within and outside of Salt Lake City– to prioritize strategies related to social and environmental justice, improving the local food system, and fostering equitable access to healthy food.

We’re thrilled to have her on the team!

Say hello when you see her at an upcoming community event . . . or a garden around town!

Jan 25

Salt Lake City Spends $804 Million on Fossil Fuels Every Year

In 2014, SLCgreen released an analysis of the average energy consumption per household in Utah. We saw that the average household burns 17 pounds of coal, 208 cubic feet of natural gas, and 3 gallons of gasoline per day!

To follow-up on that report, today, we’re unveiling a bigger-picture overview of the fossil fuel consumption for Salt Lake City as a whole. Below you will find the infographic developed by Salt Lake City and the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance.

It clearly shows the flow of money from Salt Lake City to outside states and countries that produce fossil fuels.

This information really puts into perspective the importance of managing individual consumption and reducing energy waste, while enacting the best policies and regulations to help our businesses, residents, and government entities do the same.

As an individual, these numbers can be discouraging. But there are plenty of ways you can make a difference to reduce your carbon footprint and improve air quality.

info_graphic

Still, the graphic begs the questions:

Wouldn’t it be better if the $804 million we spend annually on polluting fuels stayed in Utah? Better yet, what if it was invested in clean energy? 

Investing in clean energy in Salt Lake City is exactly what the Climate Positive initiative is all about. Click here to learn more about how Salt Lake City is working to cut off its dependence on fossil fuels over the next few decades.

And stay tuned: We’re about to unveil a more detailed plan on how to achieve our 80% greenhouse gas reduction goal by 2040.

Because all of this money should stay in Utah, while we keep the pollution out!

Jun 6

Nominate Your Business for a P2 Award!

Salt Lake City accepts a 2013 P2 Award for the net zero Public Safety Building.

Salt Lake City accepts a 2013 P2 Award for the net zero Public Safety Building.

Each year, the Utah Pollution Prevention (P2) Association issues “Outstanding Achievement in Pollution Prevention Awards” to organizations for excellence in pollution reduction practices. These awards recognize outstanding efforts that reduce risk to Utah’s environment or to public health. This can be done through practices, projects or activities that reduce pollution at the source or remove materials from the waste cycle.

Pollution prevention uses source reduction techniques to reduce risk to public health, safety, welfare, and the environment. Pollution prevention avoids transferring waste from one environmental medium (air, land, water) to another. Treating existing waste, installing equipment to comply with pollution control regulations, and energy recovery are not considered pollution prevention and will not be eligible for this award. Projects that focus on the environmental benefits of a product or service are not eligible.

The Utah P2 Association is requesting nominations for the 2014 Outstanding Achievement in Pollution Prevention Awards. Large Businesses or industry, small businesses or industry, and community involvement programs are eligible. Special consideration will be given to businesses or organizations demonstrating collaboration with other businesses and organizations, employee involvement, and innovation and initiation of new programs.

To be considered, organizations must be able to demonstrate excellence in pollution prevention practices for the calendar year of 2013. Reductions can be achieved through practices, projects or activities that reduce pollution at the source or remove materials from the waste cycle.

Who is Eligible?

  • Any individual
  • Environmental, community, educational, or non-profit organizations
  • Business
  • Industry
  • Agriculture
  • Trade or professional organizations
  • Local government

Entry Deadline: Friday, July 18, 2014

Awards Banquet: October 2014

Questions? Contact Paul Harding at (801) 536-4108 or pharding@utah.gov. 

P2 Awards Selection Criteria

  • Activities should be true pollution prevention, not pollution control or treatment. Acceptable activities include:
    • Facilities, program-wide and multimedia efforts, or outstanding projects.
    • Projects must reduce waste generation, pollutant emissions or other releases at the source; recycle materials or conserve water or energy.
  • Nominated program should use sound technology, be innovative and cost effective.
  • Environmental benefits should be demonstrated.
  • Applicant’s efforts, both inside and outside their organization, should promote pollution prevention as the preferred approach to protecting the environment and human health.
  • Measurable progress should have occurred during the calendar year of 2013.
  • Efforts should be able to serve as a model for other programs.
  • Efforts should be taken voluntarily (in advance of regulatory requirements), but can be an innovative response to regulatory programs.
  • Nominees should have a good overall environmental compliance record for two years prior to the nomination deadline.

Nomination Form

All nominees should submit a cover sheet, a one-page summary, and a narrative description. Optional supporting documentation, including charts, photographs, news clippings, news releases, publications, or other material may be included.

The cover sheet should include:

  • Nominee’s name, address, and telephone number(s);
  • Name, title and phone numbers(s) of a contact person to answer questions regarding the nomination;
  • Name, title, organization, address, and telephone number(s) of the person/organization submitting the nomination (if not self-nominated, please be sure to notify the nominee).

The summary should include a one-page overview of activities including dates when achievements occurred.

The narrative should include a description of:

  • The nominee: including background information, reasons for the project or program and number of individuals involved and their efforts;
  • Pollution prevention efforts, quantitative results of efforts, technological or managerial innovations, employee involvement, financial impact on operations, and costs and benefits (financial or otherwise). Helpful tools and information.

Submissions must be received by July 18 and sent to:

Pollution Prevention Awards
Utah Pollution Prevention Association
Attn: Paul Harding
P.O. Box 144810
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4810
(801) 536-4108 Fax: (801) 536-4457

Electronic submissions may be sent to pharding@utah.gov.