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SALT LAKE CITY — Several hundred students gathered on the front steps of the Capitol building Thursday to call attention to the issue of smog.
Barely through its first full week in session, the Utah Legislature has seen a number of groups trying to grab their attention over such issues as women's rights, the horrors of opioid addiction and the annual entreaty to fix the state's pollution problems.
On Thursday, the Madeleine Choir School in Salt Lake City led a rally over clean air issues along the Wasatch Front.
The rally, according to spokesman Matt Kitterer, tackles one of the global environmental issues Pope Francis talked about in his encyclical — Laudato Si — addressed to "every person living on this planet."
In his address, Pope Francis noted how every person on the planet has a vested interest in ecological issues.
Organizers said there was a lot of preparation that went into Thursday's event, including fifth-grade students who researched, wrote and practiced their speeches, created artwork and even tracked bills before the Utah Legislature.
Later in the day, a legislative committee heard one of a number of measures related to air quality, this one sponsored by Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper.
HB65 puts into a law an existing rule by the Division of Air Quality that says it is permissible to burn solid fuel, even on no burn days, if the primary purpose of the burning is to cook food.
Schultz said the measure is needed to provide clarity for both residents and manufacturers of solid fuel burning devices. The bill passed the committee on a 9-1 vote.
