Proposed Environmental Solutions for Utah

Proposed Environmental Solutions for Utah

I have multiple environmental solutions for Utahns that I will outlay as a constituent of Utah. The simple, but difficult to implement solution to our air quality problem is for us to stop discharging pollutants into the air. Perhaps the most helpful step in this regard is to steadily switch from a dependence on dirty fossil-fuel energy sources such as oil, gasoline, tar sands, shale oil, coal and natural gas to clean, safe, renewable sources that are free—such as the sun, wind and tides. Will this be easy and cheap? No. Is it necessary and the responsible, smart, and even the moral thing to do? Yes. Making this happen is the quickest way to make the switch.As your constituent I am asking that you make and enforce policies to stop or greatly limit the harmful stuff we discharge into the air.

The second proposed environmental solution is concerning climate change and global warming: Our changing climate, where heat trapping gases (largely caused by our burning dirty, harmful fossil fuels) will become an increasing problem for arid and snow-dependent areas such as our own. Again, a robust effort switching to clean, safe, renewable sources of energy and stopping other sources of climate-changing gases such as methane will be needed to help mitigate the very harmful and costly effects of the changing climate that will most likely happen.

My third proposed environmental solution is concerning energy issues such as generation, consumption, conservation, efficiency and waste: The energy we generate, use and waste is very much related to our air quality. As a species, we are heavily dependent on burning dirty, harmful, fossil fuels that are causing significant damage to the planet. The costs of this damage unfortunately are not included in the price of that energy. How much would it cost to return the oceans, lakes and rivers of the world, and the planet’s air, atmosphere, climate and land to a healthy state? Many trillions of dollars. And how much energy do Americans use and waste? The quantity is huge and growing. The average American uses and wastes about twice as much energy as the average European, while we enjoy no higher standard of living. Again, the simple, but certainly not cheap, solution to our energy and air quality problem is to switch to energy sources that are clean, safe, abundant, infinitely renewable and will never go up in cost—because they are free. The sun, the wind, the tides are free. Also, our energy providers should implement tiered rate structures to encourage conservation and efficiency while discouraging waste. And by installing solar energy generating panels on our homes and workplaces we can increase our energy freedom and independence by producing our own clean energy without having to be overly reliant on the ever increasing costs of centrally-produced, harmful, fossil-fuel-based electricity.


My fourth proposed environmental solution is concerning transportation: In addition to switching energy sources for vehicles from harmful, polluting fossil fuels to clean, safe renewable, we need to make our cities substantially less friendly to combustion engine vehicles and much more friendly to public transit, bicycles and pedestrians. Public transit should be made fast, convenient and inexpensive or free (tax subsidized). That would be an investment in cleaner air, saving energy and improving health. Public funding should be directed to make this happen instead of building more freeways that encourage pollution, urban sprawl and land abuse. Governments should lower speed limits and make parking less available and more expensive. Some parking lots should be converted to community gardens and green spaces. Some streets should be converted to chiefly bike use, and some streets converted to pedestrian malls. Urban car-free zones should be implemented. Governments and private entities should offer incentives for people to live close to transit hubs rather than fostering low-density sprawl. Governments should tax harmful fossil fuels and fossil-fuel vehicles while offering rebates, tax credits and other incentives for practices that help make creation healthier.


My fifth proposed environmental solution is concerning water use and conservation: In Utah County we live in a semi-arid climate. Water should be seen for what it is: a precious and limited commodity to be treated and priced accordingly. A sufficiently high price for water will incentivize its conservation and efficient use. Water rates should be tiered so that large consumers pay more per unit than small users. The higher cost of water could be passed on to those who consume products and services that are water dependent. Farmers should pay much more for the water they use and pass that on to consumers. This in turn may help curb practices that waste water (e.g. flooding fields of water intensive crops) and also help reduce the typical American familys waste of 40% of the food they consume. Being more careful about the quantity of food we consume may also help Americans curb their excessive rate of obesity (65% of Americans are overweight or obese.

My sixth proposed environmental solution is concerning land use and conservation of natural areas (including Utah Lake): We live in a natural geological bowl. At times the pollution we generate collects in that bowl and we are forced to breathe it, are harmed by it, and have our view of our beautiful surroundings blocked by its presence. Major stationary sources of pollution should be moved from our valley and relocated where pollutants are not trapped. Habitat destruction is the major cause of species extinction. If we continue to destroy the habitats of plants, animals and ourselves (through pollution, deforestation, development, mining and climate change) we will continue to cause increasing extinction of species and possibly our own. Local and the planet's natural areas should be protected and conserved. Those in need of remediation, should be restored to a healthy condition. We need to learn to live in sustainable balance, harmony and respect for the natural world and not treat it as a boundless "resource" for us to continue taking from and boundless sewer for us to dump our wastes into. Utah Valley is blessed with rich farmland and beautiful views of mountains and Utah Lake. We should preserve and protect undeveloped farmland and natural areas that help contribute to a healthy airshed, viewshed and watershed if managed well.

My seventh proposed environmental solution is concerning over consumption: As many of us have heard, the US represents about 5% of the worlds population but consumes about 25% of the world's energy. Three Of 17 major countries surveyed by the National Geographic Society, including South Korea, Germany, the UK, France, Mexico, Spain, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hungary and Sweden, the US ranks last in sustainable behavior. Since it is well know that American's follow their pocketbook very closely, we suggest that one way to help reduce waste and overconsumption is to follow the advice of David Stockman, President Reagan’s Budget Director. We suggest that a tiered tax should be levied on all forms of consumption. Stockman suggests that if an appropriate consumption tax were collected, it could replace the income tax. He further suggests that lower income individuals and families would receive tax credits to offset the burden placed on them by a consumption tax. Other strategies for reducing consumption could be put forward here. Another way to reduce consumption is to make people pay a tiered per container fee for the wastes they produce. The less one consumes the less one discards.

My eighth proposed environmental solution is recycling and waste reduction: To greatly reduce waste and increase recycling, we recommend that communities throughout Utah Valley institute free voluntary recycling for all residents and city offices (and businesses?). The cost of providing free recycling should be evenly distributed in city utility bills and should be offset by an appropriate charge per trash-can-picked-up. If a resident recycles all their wastes, they pay no trash collection fee. Again, this would amount to a tiered incentive system encouraging people to reduce their consumption and to recycle. Also, the less trash a city has to bury, the more taxpayer money will be saved in "tipping fees," and the less landfill space will be needed.