Living Under a Blanket

Ross Stoneman can’t go outside when the inversion is bad. Their nose clogs up, their eyes dry out, and it’s like a constant sinus infection, all because of the bad air.

Stoneman’s case is common amongst Utah individuals, due to the majority of winter days seeming to be a level yellow (moderate) or higher.

Utah is rated number seven on the scale for short-term small particle pollution in the country, but don’t take the word ‘small’ lightly. The tiny, microscopic particles in the air are what cause Stoneman and other’s like them pain. They are impossible to see, way smaller than the human hair, and humans are constantly breathing them in.

This small particle is called PM2.5, Particulate Matter Pollution, and it mostly affects people with preexisting health conditions like asthma, and makes them worse. On orange days, it is hazardous for Stoneman and others to go outside, because the air is so poor, which is something seen often in Salt Lake.

Inversions happen when normal atmospheric conditions (cold air up above, warm air down below) reverse. It traps all the cold air under a blanket of hot air, and the nearby mountains act as a bowl, effectively sealing the population in with the same air, including the pollutants, which don’t escape into the air outside.

“I don’t feel like going outside,” Stoneman said, “If I need to drive somewhere, I don’t feel like going, and may miss out on something that would be really good for me.”

Salt Lake City doesn’t compare well to other places, considering only massive cities like Los Angeles and New York are ahead of it.

“I’ve never felt the physical effects of pollution that badly until I moved here,” Kristen Hemmis, the 3-D design teacher at Highland who moved to Utah from the East said, “I’ve never in my life this like brain fog. But my first week I just came home and I felt like I couldn’t think clearly.”

The bad air, opposing contrary belief, is not limited to just the winter, although that is when it’s the worst, but there is a level of pollution in the summer time as well that Utahans don’t entirely think about.

This is the Ozone layer. It’s the hazy fog in the summertime that hangs around the mountains, mostly making it hard to see. The Ozone layer is naturally occurring, but it can still be harmful to people. It’s the main cause of air pollution in the summer, and mostly affects children, and can potentially cause asthma.

Air pollution for the most part however, is caused by humans. Which means, that people can fix it. While Salt Lake City is in bad condition, there are things everyone can do to help it. Things an average highschooler can do to help this situation are easy things like joining a carpool to get to school, turning off the lights and appliances before they leave home, shopping with canvas bags instead of using paper and plastic bags, or even just public transportation.