Air in Utah... [View all]

[defacto7]

On Saturday, I was driving here in Salt Lake City to take my son to an appointment and found myself in the middle of a mass that was converging on the Capitol. It was a protest against the bad air quality in Utah and the policies and corporations that have allowed it. We joined. I have always been strong on air quality since I've lived here because it is so unusually bad here and I think most of it is unnecessary.

When we drove home, I noticed 4 people walking together from the protest holding signs that said things like, "Stop the pollution" and "fight for air quality". All four got into 4 different vehicles, 2 were over-sized gas guzzling pickup trucks.. you know the ones that are never used for work but just get driven around for show. The other 2 were RV 4 wheel drive tanks... 4 people, 4 vehicles, none of which could possibly get better than 15 MPG and probably less.

I'm kind of sick of hypocritical attitudes where people think standing for a cause means other people have to change but it doesn't mean they themselves actually have to change their own lifestyle. If we are going to make a point that can change industrial practices, cause governments and the public to change their wasteful and selfish habits that choke the inhabitants of this planet... then it starts here and now, this minute... with us, ourselves, me.

On a side note... tomorrow, I'm going to plan and install an air quality cam on the roof of a building I have access to and point it at the beautiful Wasatch range that I could not even see today because of the horrific air quality. I don't know if I can get it running tomorrow or not but when it is running, I'll drop a link on DU so you can see it as it happens. Information is good.

BTW, I drive a VW... rated 42Mpg but I'm getting 50 on the highway, diesel, hoping to use old fry oil soon. I just put my Hybrid Honda to eternal rest last month but removed the hybrid battery to add to my solar panel storage. We walk, We have bicycles.