And just like that, we’re halfway through 2022! 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.
.jpg)
This last month has been jam packed with good and bad. We’re celebrating a successful Primary Election while mourning a disappointing ruling from the Supreme Court. Let’s talk about it!
Last Tuesday, June 28th, was the 2022 Utah State Primary Election. Months of supporting our endorsed primary candidates culminated at our Election Day Call-A-Thon. Our team was joined by volunteers, candidates and campaign teams in our office where we hit the phones in efforts to get voters to the polls in time. Our Call-A-Thon squad made 1473 GOTV calls!
Thanks to our incredible volunteers, donors and supporters alike, we were able to offer help and resources to ten primary candidates.
While there are still some votes to be counted, we feel it's important to recognize these victories! We look forward to working with these individuals leading up to the General Election as they continue to prioritize clean air:
We will be sure to keep you updated as more results are finalized, but we’re thrilled with these outcomes so far! Thanks to your involvement and support, we are on a positive track for state level action on climate, which we need more than ever.
Last week, the Supreme Court curbed the ability of an expert agency to fight climate change, overturning the EPA's plan for limiting carbon emissions from power plants. This is a power Congress previously, and willingly, granted to the EPA (the expert agency). Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissent:
"The Court appoints itself—instead of congress or the expert agency—the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening."
Neither can we.
This ruling is a huge setback to progress and faster action on issues like cleaning the air, cleaning our water, and transitioning to renewables. In order to effectively address climate change, we must take action at the state level.
Moving forward, it’s more critical than ever to elect environmental champions into office and support state and local efforts to fight climate change, like Prosperity 2030. That’s what our coming months will be dedicated to, and you can join us!
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
This last month, we've seen some complicated, and overall disappointing, decisions on climate. We’re bringing on some expert voices in the climate space to unpack it all:
7/13 | O2 & You! feat. Juliet Carlisle, Ph. D., a Professor of Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Utah. Together, Professor Carlisle and David will discuss the recent SCOTUS ruling in West Virginia v. EPA and what it means for climate policy.
7/27 | O2 & You! feat. Steven Brown, a Research Chemist at NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory. Together, Steven and David will discuss his research and the chemistry behind our air quality problems here in Utah at a time when state-level policies are more critical than ever.
LAST MONTH GUEST RECAP
In the weeks leading up to the Primary Election, David was joined was joined by some of our endorsed primary candidates. These individuals are committed to air quality and a high quality of life for all Utahns! Here’s what you missed:
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
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.
You know the drill! The sun shines, we hike and bike!
Don’t miss this month’s Twin Peaks Tuesdays! Every month, our team gets together for a group hike up Avenues Twin Peaks for some epic views. Join us on Tuesday, July 12th and 26th at 6:30 p.m.!
Have you been to Bikes & Brews yet? It really is a blast. Grab your friends and join us for our downtown SLC bike tour on Tuesday, July 19th at 6:30 p.m.! We’ll start and end at Fisher Brewing Company, finishing off the tour with some good conversation and even better brews.
We'll see you soon!
.jpg)
It's important you get to know our incredible supporters. This month, we're spotlighting our intern, Tit Stante. This is Tit's last week with us, and his efforts leading up to the Primary Election were essential. We really would not have seen the success we did without his work!
Tit hit the pavement 17 different times, knocking over 700 doors for endorsed candidates Nate Blouin, Stephanie Pitcher and Derek Kitchen! Not only this, but he set a new o2 Utah record with over 300 GOTV phone calls on Election Day. Wow!
"Thank you, o2 Utah, for making it so much fun and creating such a good work environment all the time. I’m super happy we were able to achieve a lot of our goals. And I really hope o2 keeps growing and achieving more milestones. This was a completely new experience for me, because I never worked so closely with politics, and I think I’ve learned a lot from it. I’ve acquired a lot of new skills, for which I’m sure will be useful somewhere in my future. Thank you again for this opportunity!"
We were so lucky to have Tit on our team for this past two months. He will be missed!
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.
We’ve made it through the midterms and luckily saw a lot of wins among air quality champions! Now let’s get to work. It’s now more important than ever to remind legislators and candidates of our desire for cleaner air. Many candidates include air quality as one of their top legislative priorities and it’s important to hold them accountable once they’re elected.
Building Codes
Utah’s building code continues to be negotiated for residential and commercial buildings across the state. As we continue to see exponential growth, this is a critical moment to set the standard for energy efficient housing. Our residential building codes haven’t been updated since 2015, and our commercial building codes are based on 2018 standards. Homes are more expensive than ever and we need to ensure that residents have access to cleaner and more affordable housing options. We will continue to advocate for progress alongside our friends at Utah Clean Energy and HEAL Utah. There are ways for you to get involved!
On August 10th at 9 a.m., you have the opportunity to join us for a public uniform building code commission meeting. If you want to join us in advocating for clean energy, let us know and we’ll be sure to keep you updated as registration details are released. Keep an eye out for our upcoming joint community action event where you can learn more and work collaboratively on your public statement beforehand!
June Interim Session
During June’s Interim Session days, we met with legislators and advocated for Prosperity 2030. We also attended interim committee hearings focused on transportation and public utilities. Building relationships with elected officials continues to be a primary focus of our policy work and will ensure a brighter future for our air quality. Local businesses and community members like you are instrumental in this process.
Community Renewable Energy
Providing communities with access to renewable energy continues to be a priority. With the passing of the initial deadline for access into the Community Renewable Energy Program (HB 411), we continue to monitor and provide support to communities who have opted in. In the communities who haven’t joined, we continue to work with city sustainability staff toward alternative solutions for lowering emissions.
Air Quality on the Wasatch Front
Air quality impacts every aspect of our lives here on the Wasatch Front. Our focus remains on providing residents with access to better air quality through cleaner transportation, pollution free buildings, and reducing emissions from our industrial sources. While these are our state’s largest sources of pollution, we are excited that June brought the opportunity for us to weigh in on other issues with significant air quality implications.
We were honored to speak on the shrinking Great Salt Lake (and what it means for air quality) on Fox 13 News. Watch the full interview here.
Conditions have never been so dire in Utah. Record breaking heat, a shrinking Great Salt Lake, poisonous air, the list goes on. We need innovative changes to address the environmental crises we face, before it’s too late. We continue to grow in our capacity for coalition building on these important regional issues. We hope you’ll join us in these efforts!
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 LISTENING TO
Playlist | Orgánica 2.0 on Spotify
"While this playlist is especially great for camping, I recommend it for any situation, really. Not to be confused with 'Orgánica,' version 2.0 is where things get really good. A must-listen!"
WHAT ELIZA IS RECOMMENDING
Get Outside! | & bring us along!
"July's a great time to escape Salt Lake's heat! Try finding a new trail or outside activity (downloading apps like AllTrails or Trailforks is a great start) at a higher elevation and tag us on social media wherever you go!"
WHAT MARCUS IS LISTENING TO
Audiobook | A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
"Not only is it a good book, but you can get it for free with a library card!"
WHAT TRAVIS IS WATCHING
Series | Stranger Things (Season 4)
"This show keeps getting better! Every episode is filmed like a movie. It's my rec for this month but seriously, who hasn't binged this yet?"
WHAT BELLA IS READING
Book | “Verity” by Colleen Hoover
"I joined a book club so I'm a reader now. This book is ridiculously good and so suspenseful, it's been a day and I'm already almost halfway through. I cannot put it down!
WHAT GREG IS RECOMMENDING
Get Outside! | City Creek Canyon
"It is right next to downtown and as the summer heats up, you can't beat the Creek. Read or listen to a podcast, watch all the dogs, and enjoy the oasis that we have next door."
WHAT BRONTI IS READING
Book | “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck
“This is a captivating story that makes you want to read it multiple times."
Thank you for being in our corner. We'll see you next month!
