'Residents in my district and across the state have a right to breathe clean air. We already have the tools to implement common sense air quality measures. It’s time to find the political willpower to make it a reality,' writes a Utah lawmaker.
Poor air quality obscures the Oquirrh Mountains and downtown Salt Lake City, as seen from the University of Utah on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021.In a recent survey of voters in Salt Lake City, Millcreek, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights and Murray, more than 1,100 respondents indicated poor air quality across the Wasatch Front as their top issue of concern.
As a lawmaker, as a mother and as a resident of Utah, air quality is a top concern for me, too. Last year, I introduced a bill to close loopholes in the vehicle emissions testing process by cracking down on illegal polluters. Independent testing has shown that vehicles with tampered emissions control devices can contribute up to 200 times the amount of pollutants than the vehicle was certified to emit — increasing the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere.
1. Cars that are 15 years old or older make up just 11 percent of passenger vehicles nationwide, but they account for more than half of all vehicle emissions. Getting more people out of old cars can have a significant impact on air quality in Utah, but buying a new car is not a financial reality for everyone. Therefore, I support subsidies to help low-income drivers trade in old cars for newer vehicles that pollute less.
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