Seeing smog

Salt Lake City ranked sixth worst in the nation for air quality

By: Jeff Sparrow

Posted: 1/26/10

There have been a number of articles, and a lot of talk recently about the increasing smog levels in Salt Lake City. Even if you haven't read or talked about it, you can actually see it, in fact you can almost get your teeth into it some days.

According to The American Lung Association, when you breathe in polluted air, the toxins begin breaking down cellular structures in your lungs and throughout your respiratory system resulting in chronic respiratory distress. In other words, hold your breath while walking to class.

According to "Webster's New World Dictionary," smog is also used as an acronym for Sweet Mother of God, Secret Masters of Gaming, Spanish Motorcycle Owners Group and Save Me Oh God. Although these are all interesting acronyms, most often smog refers to the combination of smoke and fog.

When it comes to smog, Salt Lake should worry. In fact the city is in the top 10 of most polluted cities in the country. Los Angeles, the Smog Capital of America, takes the number one spot. Four out of the top five spots in 2008 were garnered by California. ?
A recent article in "The Salt Lake Tribune" said, "On Sunday, Jan. 10 parts of northern Utah and southern Idaho were ranked No. 1 in the country for unhealthy air. It was a 'red' air-quality day for five Utah counties."

There are six stages of smog: Good, Moderate, USG (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy and Hazardous. According to the Air Quality Index Forecast, on Jan. 14, 2010, Salt Lake reached the "Unhealthy" level leaving only two levels to go before it's hazardous. You know your air is polluted when your city is hit by a blizzard, and three weeks later, the snow still hasn't hit the ground. Hmm, maybe this explains the lack of snow lately.

If you look into smog, aside from watering eyes, you might find an organization called Utah Moms for Clean Air. Not surprising since moms are against drunk drivers, drugs and other things not good for their children. While big tough business guys try to stuff smog down the throats of precious babies, the moms of Utah have created a website to minimize smog and to slowly make gas masks a trend in all elementary schools. Who ever thought that one day gas masks would be part of 'school supplies'?

Students on campus say smog has affected them. Brandon Evans said, "The smog outside is pretty thick and has affected my daily running routine. When running I feel that I'm breathing in polluted air, which has forced me to run on the treadmill in the gym instead." Evans, as well as many other students on campus, have also noticed and smelled this lingering harmful air. In fact, rumors say students are picking up smoking just to get better air into their lungs.

This smog is a problem. We don't want to be where L.A. is in terms of smog and we should do everything we can to keep our air as clean as possible. Let's take action so we can stop saying the four letter word…smog. Until then, breathe as little as possible.
Check your daily air quality in Salt Lake City by visiting, airnow.gov