Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker Clean Air

On January 8, 2014, Salt Lake City's mayor Ralph Becker challenged residents, industry and policy makers to do something about air pollution that rivals that of Beijing. Mayor Becker told his constituents that a range of initiatives need to be applied to the problem that metropolitan Utah faces. "The same conditions that make our home so beautiful also contribute to this terrible problem we have," said Becker.

In a post-address interview, Mayor Becker tells the Utah legislature supermajority that "People create pollution, and people can also end pollution." His challenge included a larger tax at the pump, one that is certain to find some resistance with his state's lawmakers.