Good air quality is very important for humans to have. However, the people that live in Utah don’t exactly have that. According to the American Lung Association, “Salt Lake City is ranked among the nations most polluted cities for both ozone and 10th most polluted city nationally.”
It is important to understand that pollution during the winter occurs from humans, but the temperature has done with nature or also called the inversion. What this means is, in an interview with Adela Genoves, a science teacher at Kearns High School stated, “There is a thing called the inversion where the temperature and the air are being trapped into the ground. When the inversion happens, it traps particles like microscopes that make up pollution into the valley.” The inversion is something that occurs naturally due to the different temperatures that Utah goes through, including how it traps all these microscopes and particles that are composed of the pollution into the ground, and with the snow on the ground and causing the inversion.
When Genoves was asked if pollution is worse during the winter or the summer she said, “Well it is worse during the winter due to the snow in the valley and when there is snow on the ground and that air that is above the snow is cold but, on a nice summer day the energy warms up the air above even a little more above so all that warm air traps the cold air which is where it is normally. However, as humans we add on more pollution from the things we use to create energy and it won’t let it go out and that’s when we are stuck in the circle of pollution. So, in the winter it’s harder for the pollution to leave the valley, until the temperature flips again, or a storm moves it out.”
There are many factors of pollution to get so bad that it gets stuck in the valley and can’t escape and Genoves stated, “Major pollution factors come from major pollution magnesium taking sediments and being able to be processed into oil refires. They create more pollution than humans.” However, how humans can avoid contributing to air pollution by, “Using your car less, maybe even try carpooling, lower your temperature in your house due to that causing the power companies to produce more oil which means more pollution.”
Why this is pollution a very serious problem and demanding for stricter laws for these companies that cause so much pollution. It has to do with health being very important due to the damage it does to the lungs and heart, especially those who have asthma. “Due to how 42% of visits to the emergency room are due to asthma.” A very high number during the winter of the emergency room visits deal with the air we are breathing.
Including, how there are other animals living in our ecosystem as well, creating a negative effect on them as well. However, to stay healthy, Genoves said, “Being able to stay home, however, also going out of the valley or even out of town so you aren’t in that area.”
