DSU Sustainability Club rallies for clean air awareness in Utah; STGnews Videocast

ST. GEORGE — Students and community members gave shoutouts to the community Saturday afternoon, advocating the cause of maintaining clean air in Utah at a rally that took place at the 900 E. 100 South crosswalk on the Dixie State University Campus.

The “Clean Air No Excuses” rally, presented by the DSU Sustainability Club, began at noon and drew in about 30 participants who created clean air support signs and displayed them to people driving by. The rally was a sister event to one that drew approximately 5,000 people in Salt Lake City last year as an active way to discuss clean air, DSU Sustainability Club President Trevor Anderson said.


To watch videocast, click play arrow  play-arrow  in center of image at top of this story


The St. George rally was one of three other rallies that took place Saturday in Salt lake City, Moab and Logan, Anderson said.

St. George does not have an air pollution problem like Salt Lake City with its inversion, he said, but with the continual population increase in St. George, the air can become more polluted.

Tori Woodman displays a sign as she crosses the 900 East crosswalk on 100 South at the Clean Air No Excuses rally, St. George, Utah, Jan. 31, 2015 | Photo by Holly Coombs, St. George News
Tori Woodman displays a sign at the Clean Air No Excuses rally, St. George, Utah, Jan. 31, 2015 | Photo by Holly Coombs, St. George News

Aside from the rally, Anderson said, he also wants to help DSU become a community leader in the clean air effort by implementing a bike share program on campus.

“If we get more students riding bikes than using cars, that’s helping the air,” he said. “We’re trying to expand recycling. We are trying to plant more trees and do a lot more sustainable practices on campus.”

Dorothy Engelman, former Democratic Candidate for the Utah House of Representatives, also came to support the rally.

“I was one of those people that moved to Utah because of its beauty, and I think it’s very important that we are proactive to keep our air here in Southern Utah clear as well as the rest of the state,” Engelman said.

Although St. George does not have an inversion problem like Salt Lake City, she added, having air monitors in the city would help prevent pollution.

During the rally, Engelman held a sign that said “Support SB87,” which is a proposed bill that would reinforce the Clean Air Act.

Sustainability Club Advisor Tracey O’Kelly offered some suggestions on how community members can help keep the air clean:

  • Get your cars tuned up regularly
  • Make sure your tires are inflated correctly
  • Don’t sit in a parking lot with your car running, but save gas and clean air by turning the car off if you have to sit more than a few minutes

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

Related posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

1 Comment

  • LunchboxHero February 1, 2015 at 1:11 pm

    The picture was so tiny on my device, I thought her sign said “honk if you like creamer”. But clean air is a much better cause. Nice job, kids.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.