On Dec. 4, 2024, 2.5 million Utah residents were smothered by a classic winter inversion, leading to the worst air quality in the country and 16th worst in the world. Utahns die from inversions, as they do almost every day from air pollution. The deceased don’t lie in a morgue with toe tags that say “air pollution did this,” just as toe tags never say “smoking did this.” But because both of them increase the risk of the things that do this — heart attacks, strokes, fatal arrhythmias, heart failure, cancer, Alzheimer’s, pneumonia, COVID, respiratory failure, miscarriages, still births, SIDS and more — pollution should be included in these death certificates.
A BYU study estimated up to 8,000 Utahns die prematurely every year because of our poor air quality. Globally, air pollution is the second leading risk factor for death, ahead of tobacco and poor diet, including for children under five.
The economics of air pollution are as ugly as our inversions. The “worst air pollution in the country” is hardly keeping health care costs down, keeping kids in school, luring companies or employees to move here or boosting real estate values. National estimates of the economic burden of Utah’s air pollution are up to $9 billion a year. The BYU study estimated air pollution costs Utahns on average two years of life expectancy. A Forbes magazine article suggests people would pay about $200,000 to live two years longer. By that metric alone, our air pollution is costing each of us about $200,000. Not something you can put on a credit card.