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Show n 0 c Enjoymemt Vs. Environment By Dot Archibald Governor Bangerter named members to a new commission on air quality Feb. 20, 1989. New commislon members include men and women from the public sector (members of the state legislature, local government, state agencies and the general public) and from the industrial base, including representatives of manufacturing, pi I of normal rainfall is lowered to the point Inspection of these is a major part of the state's program, said Dean. Phase program, not yet will include vapor capture in implemented, vehicles which transport gasoline only for personal use. Auto manufacturers are in the 2 A . process of developing such vapor capturing When they become available, devices. tourism and mining and petroleum owners of older vehicles will be required to industries. install them. What questions will they address? Although Governor Bangerter's office Will they satisfy themselves with the does not identify private automobiles as a expedient, i.e., what has to be done to satisfy major problem, many studies Indicate that the federal agencies; or will they address they are the greatest single source of air larger Issues, making specific pollution. Thousands of automobiles recommendations as well as setting policy? of which cany a single passenger Will the commission identify priorities and many travel our freeways and streets everyday. set firm, enforcable limits? Their emissions amount to a far greater According to the Governor's office, the problem than any one industrial source, commission will evaluate Utah's air qualify according to A.T. Harrison, professor of problems, assess the technical and legal biology at Westminster and dedicated requirements of Environmental Protection environmentalist. Agency standards, assess health-relate- d said The solutions are concerns and evaluate the impact of clean Harrison. Promotion of expensive,"is one air strategies on public health. Moreover, alternative, but the other, more obvious and their mandate is to assess the state's more expensive, is a mass transit system, economic development opportunities, such as the light-ra- il Utah Transit assess economic impacts of environmental Authority officials agreesystem to be inevitable. legislation upon existing industry and If Salt Lake City is to retain its qualify develop specific policy recommendations. and regain its fresh air, mass transit must be The emphasis seems to be on the part of the answer. state's compliance with EPA standards and Governor apparently the impact of compliance upon Utah's doesn't want to beBangerter the one to bring it up; economy. Only one of the stated objectives mass transit is not mentioned in his press stresses health concerns; none Is directed releases about air quality. Even so, It is toward preservation and restoration of significant that both the Utah Department of ecological balance. Utah Transit Transportation and the Air Quality Authority are represented on the Governor's Concerns include reduction of ozone, commission. C02 and PM 10 (a particulate matter ten Toxic WasteAcid Rain microns and smaller, particles which are Utah's great western deserts seem to easily inhaled into the lungs and not easily be an obvious place to dispose of toxic' expelled), factors particularly problematic wastes. Dean reports several proposals during severe temperature inversions of the" under' consideration for future toxic waste winter months. disposal sites in western Utah. According to Jeff Dean, manager of the When toxic waste is disposed, intense compliance section of environmental health, heat is required, creating smoke which, plans for reducing ozone and C02 levels are because of the prevailing westerly winds, already underway and have significantly ends up resting against the Wasatch range. reduced violations. These measures include According to Dean, high temperatures the following requirements for industry: destroy the toxicity; he did not address the refineries are required to place seals on all subject of particulate matter. Harrison sees gasoline storage tanks so vapors do not this as a major part of the air pollution escape; tanker trucks must be certified problem, a problem that he believes includes vapor-tigh- t and are also required to capture the dangers of acid rain. Acid rain is any precipitation which vapors during the process of unloading contains more than the normal quantify of gasoline at retail sites. All automobiles in Utah are required to nitrous and Due sulphuric acids. have catalytic converters (commonly known particularly to the operation of power plants, as smog devices) In operable condition. and other operations generating gases, the . car-pooli- ng that it becomes extremely acidic, threatening photosynthesis, plant productivity and freshwater ecosystems. Fortunately, here in Utah, there are some factors which provide natual solutions to the acid rain problem. First, Utah has a naturally alkaline soil which neutralizes many of the effects of acid rain in the soil; second, our local coal has a very low sulfur content. Because of that low content, scrubbers used to clear nitrogen and sulfur dioxide from power plant emissions are effective here, even if they've proven ineffective in the eastern part of the United States, said Dean. He states that the only evidence of problems with acid rain in Utah are some minor problems in the High Uintas. mmmsm Cheese Soup Hot Pastrami Sandwich with that small lakes there are that evaluation, stating in the High Uintas in which the trout are dying. Those dying trout are the mine canaries of our ecosystem, said Harrison. Public Responsibility Although the new commission has been established to deal with air pollution Harrison disagrees Taco Salad B.L.T. Onion Rings Slim Down Lunch . stated that cleaning up Utah's air will require cooperation from everyone; anti-aborti- therefore, public education concerning these issues is included in his objectives. The residents of our state must take advantage of this opportunity, learn the names of the 27 new commission members, become educated and make their concerns known to those commissioners. For the sake of "life and breath," and for the preservation of Utah's special beauty and utility, the objective of the commission must be to find lasting solutions to the problems of air answers rather than pollution, long-terexpedient, EPA satisfying measures. ' The public has a responsibility not only to support the commission, but also to serve as its watchdog. When viable solutions are presented, the mandate must be for measures to insure clean air, instead of for pro-choi- short-sighte- d "finger-in-the-dik- e" that won't antagonize the taxpayer. And Our Nifty Phones solutions In fairness to Bangerter, the language of his press release has opened the door for the improvement of Utah's environment. It is now for the public to swallow hard facts and accept a more progressive image of Utah. Instead of just a "pretty, great State," Utah must become a progressive, great state if it is to keep growing and still maintain its quality of life. FOOD, FRIEIIDS & FROLICS OPEN FOX IUXCH & Dm 7 MYS 1 WEEK anti-aborti- on tactics are particularly radical and obstructive to women's groups." NOW vice president Pat Ireland called group members "the racketeers of the Right to Life movement" Issue 19 kxstbss siltuee WBYIlf 809 East Fourth South 6957 South State 355-75- 566-191- 1 buuit rtfts 4828 Highland Drive 2230 No. at Univ. Pkwy 272-73- ce -- March 21, 1989 Frank. m one where they ca.n be effective. What's more them," said Colleen Dermody, press liaison at important than pizza?" asked Sally Packard the National Organization for Womens of Goucher College's (Md.) Women Issues (NOV.7) Washington, D.C. headquarters. "This is serious. Feminists live on Dominos pizza." Group. So far, its had a dizzying effect on The effect so far on Domino's, which we "One some were considers the campus market as one of its groups. day most important, can't be measured, company public relations director Ron Ilingst said. The groups - led by NOW are to Tom who built hurt Monaghan, aiming franchise Domino's into a giant 500-stor- e used has his fortune Monaghan operation. to buy the Detroit Tigers, amass a huge collection of houses and furniture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and, especially in recent years, agitate against abortion. Most recently, he gave $50,000 to I fiGAHsT Operation Rescue, a militant group that is best known for harassing A I women as they try to enter abortion clinics. Domino's farms, die pizza's parent firm, also donated $ 1 0,000 to the group. "We're protesting the gift to this specific group," said Connecticut College senior Stephanie Muller of POWER (People Organized for Women's Rights). "Their on Chicken Ole Ball Park By J.M. Rubin Angered by the head of the Domino's Pizza chains $60,000 donation to a radical group, some campus womens groups want to convince college students around the country to stop buying from Dominos. "This is. an issue students can focus on. . Turkey& Bacon problems, the general public is not off the hook; the public must stay Informed and ready to ask important questions. Bangerter Call For national Boycott (CPS) OU- R- HAVE YOU TRIED She said group 377-393- 9 members have physically blocked clinics entries, "called every five minutes to tie up phone lines (and) made false appointments, giving them access to waiting rooms and keeping legitimate clients out. They harangue patients and staff, shout things like 'baby killer,' and are generally very threatening." Founded by fundamentalist Randall Terry, 29, Operation Rescue "is definitely the most rambunctious group on this side," agreed Rachel MacNalr of Feminists For Life of America, a Kansas City, Mo., based Right to Life group. dont know why he chose that particular group," Kerry McNulty, a spokesman for the Ann Arbor, "I firm said of Monaghan's gift to Operation Rescue, speculating it was "out of personal convictions." Michigan-base- d Monaghan himself could not be reached for comment. Continued, Pg. 8 Forum 7 |