Ogden's administration may burn up a chance to prove it really does believe in clean air. At a work session Aug. 2, the city council and fire department kept alive an idea to burn 45 vacant homes in Ogden's riverfront. The buildings were to be torn down and developed, but the economy crashed and now the houses collect graffiti, rats, drug dealers and nasty looks.
Demolition costs $650,000. Community Development Manager Johnny Ballard says we could save $100,000 by burning them.
That's a bad idea. You aren't saving money. You're shifting costs to the sick and elderly.
I am one of 8 percent of all Utahns who have asthma. Bad air makes it hard for us to breathe. Smoke makes the air bad. Burning 45 houses creates enough smoke to foul the air for miles.
My insurance company and I pay nearly $300 a month to control my asthma, and I'm a mild case. Someone who needs two medications a month, or an occasional visit to the emergency room, costs more. Because insurance is socialized medicine, we all pay.
Ogden keeps its insurance costs down by encouraging employees to walk, run, swim and diet. Does the city's insurance provider know the city wants to foul the air its employees breathe?
People with lung diseases are more prone to colds, bronchitis and pneumonia. If this bonfire sends a dozen old people to the hospital, where is the savings?
Bad air aggravates heart disease. Heart disease kills. Funerals are expensive.
It's not "just smoke."
The Utah Division of Air Quality says this burn is OK, but Dr. Brian Moench, head of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, condemns it.
"Burning wood is more toxic than tobacco smoke," he said.
"Wood burning releases chlorinated dioxin, carbon monoxide, methane, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). Wood smoke contains over 200 chemicals and compound groups, and the emissions are almost entirely in the inhalable size range."
Air pollution hurts the unborn.
"Exposure even to brief episodes of pollution at critical stages in the development of the human embryo can cause a person to experience an increased likelihood of multiple chronic diseases, including those of the heart, lungs and brain and even obesity, diabetes and cancer," Moench said.
If unborn children won't make you reject this idea, how about this: Dirty air hurts business development.
People who run outdoor recreation businesses like to work where they can play with their toys. The Top of Utah already has a bad national reputation for filthy air.
In April, the American Lung Association said the Salt Lake/Ogden metro area has the seventh-dirtiest air in the nation. Our winters hit "worst in the nation" on a regular basis. Last winter was a doozy, but increasingly normal.
We're this way because everyone wants an exception to the rules. Burning these homes is a one-time thing, but everyone says their bit of pollution is "just this once," or "this bit won't hurt." Repeat thousands of times, you get last winter when a lot of us went through a lot of meds.
In 2007, Ogden started a Sustainable Ogden Committee to promote mass transit, clean air and healthy lifestyles. Rocky Mountain Power gave Ogden "Blue Sky Visionary Community" status along with Moab, Park City and Salt Lake County.
Setting fire to 45 houses won't make the sky blue. It's a bad example, bad health policy, bad public relations and fake savings.
Don't do it.
"Wasatch Rambler" is the opinion of Charles Trentelman. You can call him at 801-625-4232 or e-mail him at ctrentelman@standard.net. He also blogs at www.standard.net.
This topic is being discussed at The Weber County Forum.
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