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From: Brynne Sheriff
To: Rep. McKell, M.,
Subject: Please Fix Our Air Quality
Date: 2014-01-08T22:57:06Z
Body:

Dear Utah Lawmaker,

The letter quoted bellow sums up how damaging the air quality issue has become to Utah's tourism industry. Utah attracts most of its tourism through the pristine image of the West. In the winter this image is shattered once they leave the snow capped slopes and venture down into the valleys which covered in a layer of un-breathable filth.

Yes, we do have the “greatest snow on Earth”, but that is meaningless when we simultaneously have the worst winter air quality in the Country.  Why come to Utah, when you can go enjoy the snow in Colorado AND breath clean mountain air while experiencing the sites of the city?

Being a Utah native, the winter air quality keeps me from indulging in fantasies of moving back home.  It is an issue that is important enough to keep me away from my roots, and I know a lot of people who have left the state and feel the same way.  If it weren’t for the abhorrent air quality, Salt Lake City would be one of the best places to live.  Not only is the dirty air negatively affecting Utahn’s tourism markets and quality of life, it has been negatively affecting their health.  You have the ability to fix our air, and make Utah pristine again. Please do what is right for your constituent’s health and futures.


Sincerely,


Brynne Sheriff

Letters: Air pollution discouraging tourism, business

First Published Jan 07 2014 01:01 am • Last Updated Jan 07 2014 04:30 pm

What’s happened to Utah? We annually bring our family here from California for a weeklong skiing vacation, and we are appalled at the air quality here. When we descended down the canyon from Solitude, we saw a putrid, gray layer of polluted air.

How can there be such blatant disregard for the welfare of the citizens and visitors? We come here to be outside, experience nature, and enjoy the snow, all of which are ruined by the fact that we can barely breathe here. Legislation that allows such pollution is unconscionable.

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This is a completely solvable problem, as we have solved it in California. The idea that emission restrictions would be detrimental to the Salt Lake economy is ludicrous. Industry would not leave, jobs would not be lost. The draw of clean air would bring in more tourists, thus bringing in more jobs and revenue for the state.

If the current Utah legislators are not voting to better regulate emissions here, this is an embarrassment to the Republican Party. How can our party be effective, if we are seen as people who poison our own children?

Should we take our tourism dollars to Colorado?

Eric and Nina Altschuler

Redondo Beach, Calif.