You’re invited!
The Third Annual Utah Idle Free Fleets Conference will take place on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hale Center Theatre.
Questions? Contact Sophia Jackson at (801) 535-7736 or sophia.jackson@utahcleancities.org.
Category Archives: Air Quality
Salt Lake City Receives UCAIR Grant to Educate about Idle Free Ordinance
Salt Lake City Green is excited to announce that we are a recipient of a Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) grant to refresh our outreach and engagement efforts for the City’s Idle Free Ordinance!
When Salt Lake City passed the Idle Free Ordinance in late 2011, a concerted effort to engage local businesses and the community to educate about the new ordinance and place idle free signs at key locations throughout the city was undertaken. Air quality is a top priority for Mayor Becker and the residents of Salt Lake City and the time is right to refresh our education and engagement efforts.
As we head into inversion season, Salt Lake City is thrilled to receive the generous grant from UCAIR, which will allow us to refresh our materials (website, handout, signs) and engage once again with the local business community and community at large to make sure everyone understands the benefits of being idle free, the limitations of the ordinance and how they can have a positive impact on our air quality by simply turning their key!
Look for more information soon at SLCgov.com/idlefree. In the meantime, please let us know if you have any questions about the ordinance.
If you would like to report an idling complaint in real time, please call (801) 535-6628. A Salt Lake City compliance officer will be dispatched to investigate.
Help Shape the Future of the Wasatch Mountains!
Photo Credit: Steve_W via Flickr.
The Mountain Accord is a collaborative public process to make long-term decisions and take action regarding transportation, environment, recreation, and economy in the central Wasatch Mountains (between I-80 and Little Cottonwood Canyon).
Your input is crucial to this important process! Comments are currently begin accepted on MountainAccord.com until November 20. Respond to a short questionnaire about the ideal scenarios for transportation, environment, recreation and economy.
This Evening: The Future of our Wasatch Canyons
You’re invited to explore proposed development plans for the Wasatch Canyons at a special event this evening. Learn about the Mountain Accord and the future of our canyons for recreation, transportation, economy and environment.
Panelists include Laura Briefer, Water Resources Manager for Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, Natalie Gochnour, Associate Dean, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, Will McCarvill, President, Wasatch Mountain Club, Jon Nepstad, Principal, Fehr & Peers, Transportation Lead for Mountain Accord and David Whittekiend, Forest Supervisor for the Uinta-Cache-Wasatch National Forest.
Mountain Accord Discussion
Thursday, September 18
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Tessman Auditorium, Main Library (210 E 400 S)
The evening is hosted by The League of Women Voters of Salt Lake.
Utah Clean Air Fair this Saturday, Sept 20
The Utah Clean Air Fair (UCAF) is an opportunity to amplify community engagement and empowerment on clean air issues in a fun and educational atmosphere for the whole family.
Last year’s Clean Air Fair brought out 1,000 enthusiastic Utahns. And with winter right around the corner, this is the perfect opportunity to discover what you can do to improve our local air quality.
There will be local vendors, information booths, and live music. SLCgreen will be there, so stop by to say “hello!” and explore what we’re doing to reduce our impact.
Bring your family and friends, take part in your community, leave inspired and ready for a breath of fresh air!
Where:
Library Square
200 E. 400 S.
When:
Saturday, September 20
Noon – 5 p.m.
Cost:
Free!
Data Competition Tackles Air Quality in Utah
Utah Geek Events, the Big Data User groups and many other groups have joined forces to learn more about the air quality in Utah. For the past two months, technologists, scientists, air quality experts, and experts from related fields have been gathering information and data with correlations to Utah’s air.
Air quality is a complex problem that influences many aspects of our lives, including our health, economy and quality of life. Part of that complexity is understanding the entire puzzle of our air — why is it bad and how does it really affect our lives?
Get involved!
Now that we have the information to start gaining answers, we need the questions. Teams will be breaking off to compete to create amazing results with the latest technologies in Big Data, but we need your help.
We are looking for ideas of what to look for from the public. We are open to all ideas and suggestions regardless of how far-fetched or mundane they may seem. Feel free to share this survey with others.
The more questions we have, the more we can start to understand our air and help create a brighter future for Utah.
Learn more at BigDataUtah.org.
Summer Ozone: Get the Facts
During the warmest summer months, Salt Lake City experiences poor air quality due to ozone pollution.
This helpful graphic from the Utah Clean Air Partnership – UCAIR outlines how ozone is formed, and what we can do to reduce our impact.
(Don’t forget to drive less this July with the Clear the Air Challenge. Track your impact and win prizes – it’s fun!)
Be a part of the pilot — get your HIVE Pass today!
Be a part of the pilot! Purchase your HIVE Pass today at one of three locations in Salt Lake City. Ride transit with the convenience of a pass in your pocket – at a great value.
The HIVE Pass is an annual UTA pass available to Salt Lake City residents for $360 a year, which can be paid as $30 a month. The pilot program is the result of a partnership between Salt Lake City and the Utah Transit Authority to encourage Salt Lake City residents to take more trips using transit.
Purchase your HIVE Pass at the following locations Monday – Friday:
Salt Lake City & County Building
451 South State Street
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Salt Lake Public Utilities Office
1530 S. West Temple Street
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sorenson Unity Center
1383 S. 900 West
9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Feeling generous? We are excited to introduce the HIVE Voucher Program. Individuals, organizations and businesses can give the gift of transit to a Salt Lake City resident in need.
For further questions and information about the HIVE Pass, and the HIVE Voucher Program, please email us at ridewithhive@slcgov.com or visit www.ridewithhive.com.
City Celebrates a Trio of Landmark Solar Projects
Mayor Ralph Becker, Sustainability Director Vicki Bennett, Rocky Mountain Power’s Alene Bentley and Salt Lake City Police Officer Bill Silvers gathered today to mark the completion of three landmark solar projects at the City’s solar farm.
“Salt Lake City made a commitment to reduce our impact on air quality by embracing sustainable energy and transportation initiatives,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “Today we celebrate three projects that represent a huge leap forward for the City and our community. Not only are we flipping the switch on our new solar farm – which will generate over 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of sustainable energy per year – we are marking two new rooftop installations on Plaza 349 and the Public Safety Building.”
Over 4,000 solar panels were installed on the three project sites, which will generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours annually. Generating an equivalent amount of electricity would require over 1.8 million pounds of coal each year. All solar panels installed have a 25-year power output warranty and expected life of up to 40 years, protecting the City’s investment for many years to come.
In total, the three projects will reduce CO2 emissions from City operations by three million pounds per year, while also creating a positive air quality impact.
Public Safety Building: Rooftop
The roof of the Public Safety Building is covered by over 1,000 solar panels with a total capacity of 350 kilowatts. These panels complement the 30 kilowatt solar canopy that shades visitors entering the building and help the project achieve a net zero energy status. In addition to providing power for daily operations, 30 percent of the rooftop solar panels have been wired to provide emergency electricity directly to the building in the event of a power blackout.
Public Safety Building: Solar Farm
This 3,000 panel ground-mounted solar array was developed to help offset the energy and carbon emissions associated with the new Public Safety Building. Located west of downtown Salt Lake City, this solar installation is the largest ever completed by Salt Lake City Corporation. The 1.2 million kilowatt-hours generated annually is enough to power 130 average Utah homes from now through at least 2040.
Plaza 349: Rooftop
Plaza 349 in downtown Salt Lake City is home to a variety of City operations, including Engineering, Transportation and Technology. The work of these employees will now be powered in part by clean, renewable energy thanks to a funding award from the Rocky Mountain Power Blue Sky program, made possible by more than 38,000 Blue Sky customers in Utah. The City used Blue Sky Community Project Funds to place 136 solar panels atop the roof of this recently renovated building. The public is invited to track production of this solar array in real-time online.
And the City isn’t stopping here! We’re exploring a wide range of sustainable energy sources, from solar to small-scale hydroelectric and everything in between. Stay tuned…
Drive Less, Clear the Air & Win Prizes this July
The 2014 Challenge kicked off at the Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday, June 14.
Are you ready to help clear the air? The 2014 Clear the Air Challenge starts next week on Tuesday, July 1!
The month long Challenge is just that — an excellent way to challenge yourself to “drive down your miles” and reduce your emissions. Choose alternatives to driving alone and track your impact on air quality.
(And keep an eye on the leader board for the Salt Lake City Corporation network, which is SLCgreen’s home team!)
The Basics
- The Clear the Air Challenge runs July 1-31, 2014.
- Register at www.CleartheAirChallenge.org (registration details below).
- Track the trips and miles you save by using alternatives to driving alone:
- Active transportation (walk, bike) — Biking and walking, also known as active transportation, are gaining popularity as healthy, efficient and sustainable means of transportation.
- Public transit — To put it simply, ride UTA!
- Carpool — Carpooling involves more than one person traveling together in a car and can be used for many occasions including commuting to work, attending special events or taking kids to school, practices or recreational activities. This strategy requires some coordination of schedules, but can be easily implemented to achieve significant results.
- Telework — Teleworking is possible from just about anywhere – from home, a telecenter, the local coffee shop or anywhere that has a wireless Internet connection. Teleworking can include conference calling or video conferencing for meetings instead of driving to an off-site location or working from a remote office.
- Skip the trip — The skip the trip strategy is as easy as it sounds. Just plan ahead to avoid unnecessary trips. These can be trips taken for work or for home activities.
- Learn more about these strategies at TravelWise.utah.gov.
- Join a network, track your impact and compete for great prizes!
Registration
This year there is a new and greatly improved tracking tool for the Clear the Air Challenge. The new tool will require all users to re-register, but the registration process will only take about 30 seconds and users now have the ability to sign up using their Facebook profile.
During the registration process you will be asked to join a team/network, although it’s not required. If you do not see your team/network listed, please email tracker@ppbh.com with the following information:
- Team/network name
- Team/network admin name (the person on your team who will have admin rights)
- Admin’s email
- Team/network address
- Team/network description (a little about who your team is- optional)
Prizes
The Challenge has approximately $10,000 in prizes to give out this year to participants. A number of weekly prizes will be randomly given to people who have earned badges. Grand prizes will be given to the winners in various categories, including: most trips saved, most miles saved and overall champion. The Grand Prize for the overall individual champion will be a $1,300 pair of powder skis provided by Ramp Sports.
New technology
Here are some of the features of the new technology implemented this year:
- Social media integration: Sign up with your Facebook account and share Clear the Air Challenge posts to your Timeline.
- Easier tracking and recording of saved trips:
- Set up favorite trips – Trips you take often can be easily added to your tracker dashboard
- Multiple day trip recording – Forgot to track each time you took the TRAX over the past week? Simply click on each of the days you made the same trip and record them all at once!
- Trip Planner: Not sure how you might use alternative transportation to get somewhere rather than your car? Simply enter in your starting and ending locations, and you’ll receive carpool, vanpool, transit, walking and biking options to get to your destination. Use this feature all year round whether you are tracking trips or not!