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Utah business leaders urge companies, residents to take Clear the Air Challenge

By Connor Richards special To The Standard-Examiner - | Feb 2, 2021
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Rocky Mountain Power President and CEO Gary Hoogeveen speaks during a press conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.

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Rocky Mountain Power President and CEO Gary Hoogeveen speaks during a press conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.

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Liz Joy of the Utah Clean Air Partnership speaks during a press conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. 

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Salt Lake Chamber President and CEO Derek Miller speaks during a press conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. 

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Ben Bolte, executive director of GREENbike SLC, speaks during a press conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.

A handful of Utah business leaders on Monday urged businesses and residents to take this year’s Utah Clear the Air Challenge and pledged to do their part in reducing emissions and improving air quality along the Wasatch Front.

The goal of the 12th annual challenge, which will take place throughout February, is to eliminate 100,000 single-occupant trips, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 375 tons and save 2 million miles of traveling.

The challenge, a partnership between the Utah Clean Air Partnership, Salt Lake Chamber and the Utah Department of Transportation’s TravelWise, eliminated 97,521 trips, saved 1.6 million miles and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by over 476 tons in 2020.

“This past year was proof of what we seek to do with the Clear the Air challenge,” Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber, said during a press conference Monday. “The pandemic turned many Utahns into remote workers and, in turn, we saw clearer skies. This proved that even though the inversions are natural, we can have an impact on what we put into the air and do much to combat the negative effects that come with inversions.”

Miller described the challenge as “a month-long competition … designed to encourage us to reduce vehicle emissions by utilizing TravelWise strategies and choosing alternative modes of transportation,” such as biking, walking or public transportation. He added that telework is another way to reduce emissions “as many of us are already working from home due to the pandemic.”

“Each of these strategies represents a simple step we can take and, collectively, each of these small steps can have a huge collective impact,” Miller said.

Liz Joy, board chair of the Utah Clean Air Partnership and medical director for outcomes research for clinical programs at Intermountain Healthcare, said she hoped the challenge would serve “as a way to motivate all Utahns to jumpstart the new habits when it comes to how they think about how they can individually impact air quality here in our state.”

“With 50% of our air pollution coming from our tailpipes, this challenge that aims to decrease emissions is timely and very helpful in our efforts to try and reduce the air quality impacts that we often face in the winter months here in Utah,” the physician said.

Gary Hoogeveen, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Power, said the power company had “one of the highest participation rates (in the clean air challenge) among large businesses in the Wasatch Front” in 2020, adding that it would continue encouraging its employees to participate in the challenge.

“So it’s something I would ask each and every one of you as well to think about this year, participating in the Clear the Air Challenge,” he said. “We think it’s a terrific idea and a way to become invested in clearing the air in the Wasatch Front.”

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall spoke about clean air initiatives being implemented in Salt Lake City and said she plans to send an ordinance to the Salt Lake City Council that would require all new buildings funded with city money to be emission-free by 2023.

“Let’s take the challenge. Let’s choose to make the Wasatch Front a place where we all work together for better air, not because a pandemic or natural disasters force us to, but because we value each other and the health of one another,” Mendenhall said.

To register to take the 2021 Clear the Air Challenge, visit https://cleartheairchallenge.org.

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