Sustainability Squad
By Lauren Larson
Our Sustainability Squad is trying to save the canyons of Salt Lake City. We want to see our kids have equal opportunity to ski or snowboard like we did. With travel, transportation and climate change making an impact there needs to be a change made. From 2000-2020, in the photo below you can see the drought in Utah over time fluctuate from extreme lows to highs.
With the high heats comes problems with earlier springs and snow melting faster. In years that consist of long winters and large amounts of snow we need to be prepared in advance for the crowd. We want to condense the number of people traveling up the canyons to reduce traffic flow. The terribly long lines kill the joy of the all around amazing ski day. One simple way of doing this is to promote a carpool system maximizing all seats in the vehicle. The second option is to create a bus system that loops through the canyons. The bonus with the busses is the top priority they get when it comes to transportation. If a bus were to approach a traffic jam they would be able to go around and jump right to the resorts. There are sewer lines that run under the roads up the canyons. These are sensitive and the overuse of these roads managing all the traffic is overwhelming. If neither of these solutions work a third plan will take place. If someone opts to drive alone and not take the bus they will be charged $20 for traveling. Whereas, if you were in a jam packed car with 4 other people the ride up the canyon would be free. This incentive would push others to travel more wisely by choosing the bus system. Over the years the climate continues to warm and less snow falls. This is affecting Utah’s ski season because more snow is melting during the winter therefore shortening the winter tourism and recreation. The climate change leaves a major impact not only on the fun aspects of the snow but affects water availability, agriculture, the changing of landscapes, and human and animal health. The Sustainability Squad is here to point out these issues and bring serious attention to the lack of support our Wasatch Mountains are receiving. Carl Fisher from Save Our Canyons says, “You need to give a little to eventually gain a lot”. He is a strong believer that the busses will help relieve our canyon roads the traffic troubles we have had in the past. In one of the images below you can see how the low levels of snow are changing over time.
Lauren Larson
Where you are from: North Salt Lake City, Utah
What you liked about the class: It was very rewarding to have a professor like Julie Metos that took the time to individually invest in all of us and seek personal growth in our first year ofcollege. I loved the friends and community that I made in the class
What do you want to study at the U: Kinesiology (either further schooling with PhysicalTherapy or Speech and Language Pathology)