Air Quality

So, as any reader that currently lives along the Wasatch Front would know, we get "inversions" here during the winter. Basically, this means that the pressure caps the air flow and traps it down in the valleys. This does two things: 1) it keeps the temperatures cold (we finally broke past the low 20s today) and 2) it traps all air pollution down in the valleys. Here is a picture I found of the freeway near here:

All of that haze is the pollution and this is what the air here looks like for most of the winter. You can see a picture of the state capitol here: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57245936-78/utah-inversion-lake-salt.html.csp. Tom and I have recently started talking about purchasing respirators to wear when we have to be out. This air literally makes my lungs burn when I breathe in, makes my chest feel like there is a 5 pound weight sitting on my chest, makes my nose plug up, stings my eyes, gives me headaches, and leaves me feeling totally exhausted. It also makes me feel bad for the pups because it isn't good for their lungs either and they are stuck inside most of the day because I don't want to go take them for a walk in this stuff. 

Anyways, we have this agency here called the Utah Department of Environmental Quality: Division of Air Quality that tracks the air quality. They use some standards set by the EPA to determine whether the air is "good", "moderate", "unhealthy for sensitive groups"(small children, the elderly, those with heart or lung diseases, and pregnant women), "unhealthy", "very unhealthy", and "hazardous". Today, we are sitting squarely in the "unhealthy" range today. You can see explanations, todays current conditions, trends, and a three day forecast on http://www.airquality.utah.gov/aqp/currentconditions.php?id=slc. Although we aren't big fans of snow our only hope for it clearing out is another winter storm. The inversion will start to set in again as soon as the storm ends. The only other break will come with a change in weather patterns (read spring).

I don't care where people fall on the global warming/environmental change spectrum, but how can anyone look at that air, learn about what is in it, what it can do to the human body, and not see that we are at the very least killing ourselves. The air here may be the number one reason we look at leaving someday. May you all find a little clean air in your future (if you are local) and may you enjoy your fresh air if you live somewhere this doesn't happen.