Smart moms | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I just read the plan of Utah Moms for Clean Air for cleaner air. Pure genius!

I was impressed by how the moms immediately addressed the economic side of the clean air equation. Call it basic home economics.

They argue that if it is inappropriate to dump our home sewage and garbage into the street, why should it not be equally inappropriate to dump toxins into air? The airshed, they rightfully claim, should not be a free public sewer.

It is also pure genius to propose an airshed user fee. People rightfully do not like taxes, but they can get their head around the idea of paying for the proper handling of the garbage they put out.

Nothing motivates business or personal behavior more than money. The user fee makes them either pay the cost of polluting or find ways to do things cleaner. So smart, moms!

Utah Moms for Clean Air hit the nail on the head. They should be proud of their plan — and so should everyone in Utah.

Gina Morris

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada