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I'll give another good reason to avoid living there: The air quality along the Wasatch Front (Ogden, Salt Lake, & Provo) is among the worst in the nation. http

by letney 13y ago

I'll give another good reason to avoid living there: The air quality along the Wasatch Front (Ogden, Salt Lake, & Provo) is among the worst in the nation. http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/city-rankings/most-pollute... ranks the Provo-Orem area as the 11th highest nationwide for short-term particle pollution (SLC being #6 and Logan being #10). I left Salt Lake City 6 years ago. I miss many aspects of life there and have considered moving back. But the air quality there is an absolute deal breaker. The winter inversions are absolutely miserable.

dmgrow 13y ago
The good news is that this has become a forefront issue. Governor Herbert has started making air quality a priority, but also key local groups like Envision Utah. Fixing the inversion problem though will take active involvement from the community. If we could get 1/3 of the cars off the road on the 10 days/year it mattered the most, it would be a game-changer. The tech companies in the area could make a big difference in this effort if they let their collective thousands of employees work from home on those days.
- letney 13y ago
  While I think its wonderful news that it has become a priority, I remain pessimistic. The geography of the valley cannot be changed and combined with the common high-pressure weather patterns the air is trapped for weeks at a time. Even with massive cut-backs in emissions our industrial economy and expanding population ensures this will remain a problem long into the future.
- xxpor 13y ago
  Or they could have their office in downtown SLC, making transit a viable option to get to work.
seanmcdirmid 13y ago
SLC is unique in that they suffer from inversions, that lead to AQIs as high as 70 2.5 ppm. I now live in Beijing where we sometimes get up to 700 AQI (also with inversions!), so I remember the first world problems I had in SLC. If I move back to the states, I'm going to avoid living in bowls or valleys.

by letney 13y ago

dmgrow 13y ago

The good news is that this has become a forefront issue. Governor Herbert has started making air quality a priority, but also key local groups like Envision Utah. Fixing the inversion problem though will take active involvement from the community. If we could get 1/3 of the cars off the road on the 10 days/year it mattered the most, it would be a game-changer. The tech companies in the area could make a big difference in this effort if they let their collective thousands of employees work from home on those days.

letney 13y ago
While I think its wonderful news that it has become a priority, I remain pessimistic. The geography of the valley cannot be changed and combined with the common high-pressure weather patterns the air is trapped for weeks at a time. Even with massive cut-backs in emissions our industrial economy and expanding population ensures this will remain a problem long into the future.
xxpor 13y ago
Or they could have their office in downtown SLC, making transit a viable option to get to work.

seanmcdirmid 13y ago

SLC is unique in that they suffer from inversions, that lead to AQIs as high as 70 2.5 ppm. I now live in Beijing where we sometimes get up to 700 AQI (also with inversions!), so I remember the first world problems I had in SLC. If I move back to the states, I'm going to avoid living in bowls or valleys.