And just like that, it's March! You can look forward to the O2 PUNCHLIST the first Thursday of each month. This newsletter gives us an opportunity to keep you in the know with both our work and our community. None of this would be possible without your support, so we want to give you the inside scoop every month.
As the 2022 Utah State Legislative Session comes to a close, we're looking back on an exciting two months. We spent these last 45 days fighting for cleaner air with Prosperity 2030, our landmark air quality solution. We're eager to fill you in on the progress that's been made, but first, we have to give some shout-outs!
Have you heard of the Air Quality Utah Advocates? This group of people from throughout the state meets on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss Prosperity 2030 and take action together. During the session, we held our first three Air Quality Utah Advocates meetings, we called, texted and emailed elected officials, and some of us even gathered on Capitol Hill together (pictured above). These collective efforts made a huge impact. To those of you who took action on Prosperity 2030 this session, thank you!
The legislative session is over, but our work on air quality is only just beginning. Prosperity 2030 is the comprehensive plan to solve this crisis by reducing pollution along the Wasatch Front by 50% by 2030. Up until now, there hasn't been a plan, and special interests have worked hard to ensure this. The Air Quality Utah Advocates exist to combat these forces, and we want you to join.
One of the unique things about o2 Utah is that we aren’t just working on policy. We get involved in elections, offering campaign support to candidates who champion our policy goals. We are proudly endorsing Prosperity 2030 supporter, Nate Blouin, who is running against Senator Gene Davis in Senate District 13.
Senator Davis has a history of voting poorly on issues like air quality, and actually scored worse than many Republicans on our Legislative Report Card from last year.
One of the pillars of our organization is holding our elected officials accountable when it comes to the environment, and this means supporting their challengers! But we need your help—keep reading to find out how you can get involved!
For those of you who are new here, we do a biweekly interview series/podcast called O2 & You! Our Executive Director and host, David Garbett, meets with voices from both environmental and political spaces. We've had on some pretty incredible guests over this past year, and we invite you to get caught up! Each episode is presented as a Facebook Live event, but if you're unable to join you can access all episodes on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
MARCH GUESTS
3/9 | O2 & You! feat. Alex Veilleux and Josh Craft. Alex is a Policy Associate for HEAL Utah, and Josh is the Government and Corporate Relations Manager for Utah Clean Energy. Together, Josh, Alex and our very own Eliza Cowie are doing a recap of this year's legislative session!
3/23 | O2 & You! feat. Mary Anna Mancuso, a Spokesperson for leading national republican environmental organization, RepublicEN. Together, Mary Anna and David will discuss the important work RepublicEN is doing to help conservatives navigate the climate conversation.
LAST MONTH GUEST RECAP
In February, we welcomed previous guests as well as new faces. From new o2 Utah staff members to air quality champions serving on The Hill, it's safe to say we have some good eggs in our corner. If you weren't able to tune in, here's what you missed:
2/16 | O2 & You! feat. Greg Yerkes, our brand new Development Director! From the Downtown SLC Alliance to the Peace Corps, Greg has a wealth of experience working on the issues he cares about. Tune in to learn more about Greg and why fundraising and development are such critical components to making an impact!
2/24 | O2 & You! feat. Representative Joel Briscoe. Rep. Briscoe not only one of the fiercest air quality advocates in the legislature, but he is also a repeat guest! Together, David and Rep. Briscoe discussed updates on his bills as well as major air quality/environmental bills he watched during this year’s legislative session.
Each month, you're invited to come hang with the the o2 Utah team! We have a busy year ahead of us, but continuing to engage with this community is at the top of our list.
As we mentioned earlier, we are proudly endorsing Prosperity 2030 supporter, Nate Blouin, who is running against Senator Gene Davis in Senate District 13. In order to go up against Senator Davis, Nate needs signatures from the residents of Senate District 13 to secure a spot on the primary ballot. So, for this month's community event, we're inviting you to come Pound the Pavement with our team!
Join us on Saturday, March 12th at 11 a.m. in gathering signatures for Prosperity 2030 supporter, Nate Blouin. We are meeting at Big Cottonwood Regional Park off of 1300 E. Once you RSVP, we will reach out with additional details!
This is an extremely impactful action you can take to help us advance Prosperity 2030. We hope to see you there!
It's important you get to know our incredible supporters. This month, we're spotlighting Margaret Edmunds, who attending Air Quality Utah Advocates meetings and made phone calls to legislators with us throughout the session.
"I knew that Utah was facing environmental challenges when I moved here with my family last year. Seeing the polluted air and shrinking Great Salt Lake in person made me want to take action. I’ve been impressed with o2 Utah’s strategic approach to passing meaningful legislation through the state legislature and am glad to be a part of their volunteer team!"
We are so lucky to have Margaret in our corner!
We're enacting change with bold environmental policy. Each month, we want to keep you updated on our policy development: what we're focussing on, facts to help connect the dots, and progress on o2 Utah policy.
This last month was our biggest on policy yet. During this year's legislative session, we made some big strides in the right direction with Prosperity 2030. Thanks to the collective support of air quality advocates throughout the state, here's what we were able to accomplish:
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Prosperity 2030 has been submitted for drafting as "Project 2030". This is a massive piece of legislation, so having it submitted after one session is a huge feat.
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We’ve gained another air quality champion—Representative Andrew Stoddard has joined us and is poised to introduce "Project 2030" in the House next year.
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Senator Cullimore’s air quality request for appropriation was approved and will be included in a larger budget request (S.B. 3 Current Fiscal Year Supplemental Appropriations). This provides the Division of Air Quality infrastructure to continue its research on air quality trends across the Wasatch Front, and is a huge help in advancing Prosperity 2030. It's being voted on this week!
Additionally, we worked with Senator Kirk Cullimore on his S.B. 188, which provides low-income residents access to more efficient appliances and all Utahns better access to zero and low emission transportation. We are happy to share that this bill passed the Senate and was submitted to the House to be voted on with a favorable recommendation from House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee. It's also being voted on this week, so keep an eye out!
Our biggest takeaway from the session was that our approach is working. As you reached out to your legislators and Senator Cullimore on behalf of air quality, it pushed them all to do more. Senator Cullimore is on The Hill, using his voice and his authority to advance air quality solutions. Air quality is on the table, and we’re finally positioned to actually address the problem we’ve been suffering with for so long.
Thank you for following along with us through the session!
If your last two years were anything like ours, you blew through just about every show, book, podcast, and playlist—leaving you searching for something new. Worry not, we've got you! Every month, you can look forward to recommendations for listening, watching, and reading from our team.
WHAT DAVID IS READING
Book | "The True Believer: Thoughts of the Nature of Mass Movements" by Eric Hoffer
"Watching the disastrous impact of Putin’s world view in Ukraine, I’m reminded of this book. Hoffer has great insight on how large populations can get behind ideas (both bad and good)."
WHAT ELIZA IS READING
Book | "Atomic Habits" by James Clear
"It's pretty easy to feel overwhelmed right now and this book helps break down positive habit forming behavior and is a good reminder that 1% better everyday always overrides 1% worse."
WHAT MARCUS IS WATCHING
Series | "Miracle Workers" on HBO
“This is a great show for when you’re exhausted and don’t want to think!"
WHAT TRAVIS IS WATCHING
Series | "The Righteous Gemstones" on HBO
"This is a hilarious series about the life of an ultra wealthy Televangelist family."
WHAT BELLA IS WATCHING
Series | "Queer Eye" on Netflix
"Yes, I'm aware this is not a hot take. Every time I pick this show back up I forget how touching it is and I fall back in love with it all over again. With all the craziness going on in the world, I'm using this show as a little reset button to remind myself that sweet things are still happening to good people out there! For maximum serotonin, watch seasons 4's 'On Golden Kenny'!"
WHAT GREG IS READING
Book | "One River More: A Celebration of Rivers and Fly Fishing" by W.D. Wetherell
"This book is part fishing log part biography, but mostly inspiration when you just can't get off the couch. Read it and get out there!"
WHAT BRONTI IS READING
Book | "Rising from the Plains" by John McPhee
"'This book paints a fascinating picture of Wyoming through the eyes of a profound geologist, Dave Love."
Thank you for being in our corner. We'll see you next month!
