The Inland Port in the northwest quadrant of Salt Lake City is an environmental nightmare. Not only will it create more industrial pollution, destroy wetlands and one of the biggest bird migration corridors, it is attempting to boost the dying coal industry with satellite ports. One is in Sevier County. However, a nonpartisan study commissioned by the county described the plan as an “imminent danger.” They warned, “Coal is tumbling.”
Yet, Utah continues to pump money into the coal industry. Attorney General Sean Reyes has committed 53 million dollars of Utah taxpayer money joining a lawsuit to use shipping hubs in California. Our legislators are considering more funding for coal.
Instead, money should be invested in green energy technologies. These offer cleaner, safer more environmentally friendly jobs and cheaper, cleaner energy sources.
No matter where coal is burned, it increases greenhouse gases. We saw the effects of this with massive wildfires across the globe, floods, and erratic weather. Here in Utah we are in a drought attributed, in part, to global warming. We can no longer support fossil fuel industries.
We need leaders to invest in our future, and stop wasting taxpayer dollars on a dying, dirty industry.
Patricia Becnel, Ogden