By Taylor Cripe and Lindsie Wharf
One of Utah’s most notoriously polluted environments might experience a significant change for the better this summer.
If shutdowns and social distancing measures related to the coronavirus pandemic continue in coming months, Cache County could see reduced concentrations of air pollutants, said air quality expert Randy Martin, a professor in Utah State University’s College of Engineering.
In particular, Martin will be watching closely to see what happens to the valley’s ozone levels.
While the ozone layer acts as a shield for earth, direct contact with ground-level ozone—which is formed when pollution from cars, factories and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight—is bad for plants, animals and humans. According to the EPA, exposure to ozone levels of greater than 70 parts per billion for eight hours or longer is unhealthy. Cache Valley generally “bumps right up against that number,” Marin said.
If people reduce travel this summer, Martin said, it will tell researchers a lot about how driving habits impact ozone levels in Cache County.
Martin and two Utah State colleagues, Roger Coulombe and Roslynn Brain, wrote in 2016 that Cache Valley has generally exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard of up to 17 poor air quality days per year. Since 2016, Martin said, Cache Valley has been doing better because of regulation on businesses — but there is still a problem with inversion.
Most of Utah’s population lives along the Wasatch Front, surrounded by mountains on all sides, creating a “bowl.” During the winter, cold air often becomes trapped in the valley, which, according to Martin, causes everyone to “swim in their own soup,” or constantly breathe in pollutants stuck in the valley.
“Because winter is over, it’s going to be difficult to see if the effects of coronavirus have any impact on inversion,” he said, “however, it does impact us significantly in other ways.”
Martin says the Utah Department of Transportation has reported a 25 to 30 percent reduction in emissions statewide since people began limiting their movements for school, work, entertainment and recreation in response to the pandemic.
The state previously implemented restrictions to reduce overall pollution by requiring 1.6 tons less of pollutants be emitted in the air every day. Now, Martin said, Utahns are creating 3.1 fewer tons of pollutants each day.
“Basically, we are currently doing almost twice what the state requires of us,” he said.
Does that represent a silver lining to the weeks of isolation and economic loss resulting from businesses shutting down in the state?
Awbrey Burgess thinks so. The senior at Utah State University, who is studying geography, said the pandemic has demonstrated that air pollution can be mitigated when people are more thoughtful.
“The Earth is getting a break right now,” Burgess said. “Moving forward, we should be thinking about how to balance the economy with the environment. Doing simple things like walking more and not driving a car everywhere.”
Utah State geoscience education professor Blair Larsen agreed.
“Air pollution and industrial emissions are down for a number of sectors, which leads to better air quality and overall public health,” Larsen said. “At the same time, the pandemic is forcing people to focus on the benefits of their local recreation opportunities.
That, Larsen said, is one positive outcome from a negative experience.
“As with most things, if people pause to think a bit more before they take action, then we can decrease the negative effects and increase the positive effects,” she said. “For example, as we spend time hiking nearby trails, we can appreciate their beauty and resolve to maintain them better in the future.”
But Larsen said these sorts of positives should not be thought of as mitigating the negative ones related to the crisis. And Martin agreed. Despite the good that may come to Cache Valley from better air quality, Martin said he “doesn’t want to pin a rose on the situation.”
“We need to look at silver linings," he said, "and the silver lining here is we have proof that driving is a major problem for the environment.”
The main takeaway for now, Martin said, is a better understanding of how economic and environmental interests can be balanced.
“If we can learn to drive less and balance this out,” he said, “it will be a good thing going forward.”
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