Happy June and hello summer! 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.
We have endorsed an incredible slate of candidates for the upcoming Primary Election on June 28th. We shared some of them with you in last month’s PUNCHLIST, and since then we’ve added a few more!
ENDORSED PRIMARY CANDIDATES
To view the rest of our endorsed candidates, visit our 2022 Primary Election page.
You can make an outsized impact on our state's environment by voting in the upcoming election. For more information on voting, please visit the link below and make sure to vote on Tuesday, June 28th!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first-ever Bikes & Brews and for Twin Peaks Tuesday last month! As it gets warmer out, we are trying out new ways to get together in person and enjoy the fresh(ish) air.
If you couldn’t make it last month, it’s no big deal! There’s plenty more where that came from. Keep reading for details on our upcoming events—you’re invited to them all!
We are so lucky to have the help of our awesome new intern, Tit Stante!
"I am 23 years old, and I am a senior pursuing an Environmental Studies degree at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. I am a two time Winter Olympian and a full time professional snowboarder. Originally I am from Slovenia, but my snowboarding career has brought me here, with the goal of acquiring a college degree while still competing at the highest level of competitions.
Having never worked for an organization like o2 Utah, I am excited to learn all about the fundamentals of how non-profits work, as well as how an organization as small as this can significantly impact our environment. I look forward to working with this wonderful team, and I hope that my contributed work helps o2 achieve their goals sooner."
We are excited to announce some new additions to the team as we embark on our new Commit-to-Vote campaign! Our two brand new Voting Organizers, Max Marchand and Rhianna Foster, are out at the doors in West Jordan urging less frequent voters to participate in the upcoming election.
Max Marchand
"I am a graduate from Westminster College with a degree in Environmental Science. I am from New Hampshire and love to ski!
Working with o2, I am excited to have a chance to increase voter turnout here in Utah and leave a positive impact!"
Rhianna Foster
"I was born in Alaska and have always been surrounded by nature, which is a good portion of the reason why I want to be involved in environmental work, and why I joined o2! Two facts about me: I have three pet snails named Gabriella, Greg, and Garrett. I'm also a big fan of geology and my rock collection is pretty sweet! I recently graduated with a degree in Environmental Sustainability from the U and I love o2 Utah! The stuff we do is really amazing and so important, especially these days.”
There are many West Jordan residents who care about the environment but are not participating in elections frequently. The purpose of this voter turnout effort is to persuade those less frequent voters to participate so we can clean the air, get action on climate, protect public lands and more.
To learn more about how #YouCanVote to help the environment, visit our resources page. There, you can find important dates and election information, sign up to receive Election Day reminders, and discover the work we're doing in key races throughout the state.
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.
UPCOMING GUESTS
For the next couple of weeks, David will be joined by some of our endorsed primary candidates. These individuals are committed to air quality and a high quality of life for all Utahns!
6/10 | O2 & You! feat. Derek Kitchen for Senate District 9.
6/15 | O2 & You! feat. Stephanie Pitcher for Senate District 14.
6/22 | O2 & You! feat. Nate Blouin for Senate District 13
LAST MONTH GUEST RECAP
May was all about looking back and moving forward. Here’s what you missed:
5/25 | O2 & You! feat. Hal Crimmel, a Brady Professor and Chair at Weber State University, and an editor of "Utah's Air Quality Issues: Problems and Solutions". Together, David and Professor Crimmel discussed his work, a brief history of Utah’s air quality, and strategies for moving forward.
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.
Like we mentioned earlier, we have plenty of upcoming opportunities to get to know the o2 Utah team and likeminded individuals in your community.
Don’t miss the next Twin Peaks Tuesday! Every month, our team gets together for a group hike up Avenues Twin Peaks. Join us on Tuesday, June 14th at 6:30 p.m.!
The first Bikes & Brews was such a blast, we’re making it monthly! Grab your friends and join us for our downtown SLC bike tour on Tuesday, June 21st at 6:30 p.m.! We’ll start and end at T.F. Brewing, finishing off the tour with some good conversation and even better brews.
We'll see you soon!
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.
Prosperity 2030
We are continuing to meet with legislators, stakeholders, and community members on efforts to support and push Prosperity 2030 forward. We also have been working alongside the Department of Environmental Quality to finalize their analysis of Prosperity 2030 and look forward to sharing these findings once this study is completed later this summer.
Additionally, we have some exciting updates regarding the status of Prosperity 2030! To find out, attend our upcoming virtual AQUA meeting on June 7th at 5:30 pm!
Homes & Buildings
The Uniform Building Code Commission continues to meet regarding updates to Utah’s building codes. These updates occur every six years and have an outsized impact on the efficiency of our homes and buildings. We continue to attend and advocate for building electrification standards as well as the adoption of the 2021 building codes updates, alongside our friends at Utah Clean Energy and HEAL Utah. The next public meeting will be on June 22nd at 2:30 pm. Please reach out if you are interested in attending and/or providing public comment!
Regional Haze
Last week, o2 Utah attended the Air Quality Board meeting regarding Utah’s Regional Haze State Implementation Plan. We presented on the findings of our recent focus group studies that showed clear results that Utahns want swift air quality action and they trust and actually prefer state regulators to address our air quality issues compared to the federal government. Air quality issues like regional haze impact our residents' health and the health of our economy and we will continue to advocate for state solutions to this issue. To learn more about regional haze, click here!
Community Renewable Energy Program
May 31st was the official deadline for communities to sign onto the Community Renewable Energy Program. This program provides net-100% renewable electricity to all residents by 2030. Alongside partners at the Sierra Club, Utah Clean Energy, and HEAL Utah, we advocated for cities across the state to adopt this program and provide their residents with this affordable option. While we are still awaiting official decisions, we know that at least 17 cities voted to join the community renewable energy program, including many along the Wasatch Front.
Unfortunately, West Valley City voted against joining on a 5-2 vote, despite efforts of community members. We thank City Councilor Lars Nordfelt for his continued support of this program. To learn more and see if your community has joined, click here.
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 WATCHING
Movie | Everything Everywhere All at Once
"I don’t want to give it away and ruin the surprise. Just go see it!"
WHAT ELIZA IS RECOMMENDING
Ride a Bike | Bikes & Brews
"Pick one day a week and bike to work or to meet up with your friends (maybe you'll even love it and you'll do it more often!) If you need a good reason to hop on your bike, join our Bikes & Brews event at the end of the month"
WHAT MARCUS IS RECOMMENDING
App | Salt Lake County Library App
"For SLCo residents, the Salt Lake County library app! If you have a library card, you can get a ton of free online resources, including audiobooks. I just started using the app and I'm blown away by the amount of audiobooks you can access for free!"
WHAT TRAVIS IS WATCHING
Series | Under the Banner of Heaven
"Andrew Garfield plays a detective investigating a murder in Alpine Utah. Crazy good!!"
WHAT BELLA IS LISTENING TO
Podcast | Smartless
"My awesome team recommended this to me so now I'm recommending it to you! Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes & Will Arnett host this pod together and interview a variety of guests from all walks of life. It's hilarious and insightful. If you haven't listened already, you most definitely should!"
WHAT GREG IS READING
Books | "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol 1 and 2" by Alan Moore
"These graphic novels will have you simultaneously scouring each page for DEEP references to classic literature and literarature adjacent characters, and turning the page as quick as you can to follow a captivating story. The movie that came out years ago is fun, but these books the movie was based on will keep you on a roller coaster ride page after page. Vol. 2 especially, as the crew battle through the hopelessness of the War of the Worlds to victory and moral confusion."
WHAT BRONTI IS READING
Book | "The Second Sex" by Simone De Beauvoir
"Because women!"
Thank you for being in our corner. We'll see you next month!
