This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I was always known to have a great immune system. However, after moving to Utah, I seem to be sick all the time. Thanks to the mountains that surround us, pollutants are trapped in the valley by inversions, causing the air quality to be worse than in other areas. There doesn't seem to be any action that is taking place to eliminate or even reduce the amount of pollutants in our air.

The inversions wouldn't be a problem if there weren't any pollutants to trap in the valley. The answer to better the air quality seems pretty obvious, but nobody seems to care or want to take action. A lot of the valley is informed, but nobody is taking the situation seriously. There seems to be no motivation to do so since no one has realized how critical the situation is.

As a 16-year-old student at the American International School of Utah, I realize that there are things to do to keep the air healthier in Salt Lake. After taking a climate change course, I am understanding that our situation at this point is serious, and we need to take action and start motivating others to help clean the valley's air.

Aathaven Tharmarajah

West Jordan