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Smog and Skiing in SLC

12/21/23

Salt Lake City from Alta, 12/15/23

Smog held over the city by a thermal inversion, resulting in terrible air quality and visibility.

Salt Lake City from Snowbird, 12/19/23

Beautiful, clear view the day after rain in SLC, temporarily clearing the smog.

The Problem

We've been in the Salt Lake City area now since December 6th, with the first week spent in Heber City on the east side of the Wasatch and the second week near downtown SLC. The first time we drove down from Heber City, a thick haze was abundantly obvious. At first, we assumed it was just fog. But as we drove into it, we noticed our eyes started to sting a little and we could smell a faintly metallic odor. We didn't think too much of it, until the next day. The haze was still there.

We hit the slopes and started chatting with locals. It quickly became apparent that this was not just fog. This was smog. Persistent, thick smog that lasts most of the winter thanks to a phenomenon called "inversions".

While anecdotal and first hand evidence was enough to convince us that this was a real problem, we dug in further. SLC's smog issue is real. The American Lung Association ranked SLC as the 10th worst U.S. city in terms of ozone and 19th worst in terms of particulate matter (PM). And on September 7th, 2020, SLC had the 5th worst air quality in the world. PM is particularly concerning, as it is a mixture of incredibly small chemicals. These tiny particles travel deep into lung tissue, where they are abosrbed into the body and can cause premature mortality, acute and chronic bronchitis, asthma attacks, and emergency room visits.

So what causes this smog? Well, the five refineries in the Salt Lake area probably aren't helping. Neither is the fact that coal produces 53% of Utah's electricity. And the 2,687,000,000 miles driven by SLC residents don't help the matter. While mother nature causes the temperature inversion that prevents air circulation in the city, it's very clearly human emissions that cause the smog which is trapped over the city.

Marathon refinery located less than 3 miles from downtown SLC

The Solution

More importantly, what can be done about this? As with many energy transition plans, the first step is to clean up the electrical grid. Salt Lake has already made some strides, with the closure of the last two coal fired power plants in Salt Lake County 2016 and 2019 (although this was a move by private corporate Rio Tinto as it shifts to 100% renewable by 2050, not the Salt Lake or Utah governments). Adopting a series of policies, including incentives, taxes, and potentially regulations and mandates, is likely necessary to transition away from coal to renewables. Ultimately, SLC will need policies to support the high capex of renewable energy projects, unlocking the long term cost savings (renewables continue to have lower ongoing costs, with solar energy consistently below $0.06/kWh), and SLC will need to find ways to work with zoning, permitting, and other regulatory mechanisms to mandate all future power production be renewable. Electrifying the grid will reduce SLC emissions ~50%.

Digging into SLC's emissions inventory, you can glean insight into what they should (and are) focusing on next—electrifying transportation. Gasoline and diesel accounted for 16% of SLC emissions in 2015, after electricity and natural gas. Policies to improve public transportation, non-motorized vehicle travel, EV adoption, and use of sustainable aviation fuel at SCL international will be necessary to drive down transportation emissions.

Thankfully, SLC is already making strides towards reducing their emissions through the Climate Positive 2040 Resolution. This Resolution is built on two goals:

100 X 2030: 100% Renewable Energy for Community Electricity Supply by 2030
80 X 2040: 80% Reduction in Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2040, Compared to 2009 Baseline

The first goal is simple to understand—decarbonize the electrical grid, and do it fast. The second goal might seem a little contradictory, but in reality it is much more sweeping as it looks beyond just the electrical grid and includes all sources of emissions. Most notably, this will include transportation and buildings (primarily natural gas use). These are ambitious goals, but they are necessary to address both the local air quality issues SLC faces as well as the broader global climate crisis.

It should be no surprise to those familiar with tackling climate change that these are often the two most important aspects of addressing climate change. If you want to learn more, Speed and Scale by John Doer is a great primer that focuses on a simple set of actions. Mr. Doer looks to FDR's precedent that any plan should be simple enough to be written on a cocktail napkin, as FDR did with his plan to win WW2. The first two tenets of Speed and Scale are to Electrify Transportation and Decarbonize the Grid—exactly what SLC is doing!

Speed and Scale Action Guide

FDR's Plan to Win WWII

What can you do about it?

Vote on the climate: Many of the changes required to address this and other climate issues will require government involvement. The Inflation Reduction Act is a perfect example of legislation that will significantly move the needle. Keep climate in mind when you vote, both for national and local elections.
Reconsider transportation: Driving is a major contributor to climate change. Reducing miles driven by combining trips, taking public transportation, or purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle can make a difference. Our next vehicle will definitely be an EV!
Install solar: This is a significant upfront cost, but it saves money in the long run greatly reduces your individual emissions footprint. Deep dive to come in my next blog post!

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