Moms and kids at Capitol to meet lawmakers, plead for cleaner air

For the second time in as many weeks, Utah Moms for Clean Air and dozens of local school children walked, rode bikes and carpooled to the Capitol on Tuesday to draw attention to the state's poor air quality and encourage everyone to do something about it.

This time, however, the adults let the kids speak.

Classes from Whittier Elementary School and Morningside Elementary School stood on the steps near the Rotunda wearing surgical masks and carrying handmade posters and signs. One by one and in groups, they came down and talked to the assembled crowd.

Six-year-old Whittier Elementary kindergartner Henry Fosnocht said he wasn't able to go to recess on several days in the past year because the air outside was so dangerous.

"Please keep our air clean," he said. "We need recess. Not just because it's fun, but because our lungs and brains need fresh air so that we can think and learn more."

Other children urged people not to leave their cars idling if they are sitting for longer than 10 seconds. Eleven-year-old Morningside Elementary sixth-grader Eliza Moore said the assumption that a car needs to be warmed up in the morning before driving it is a "myth" that contributes to the dangerous air.

"If you want to warm up your car, then just get in and drive away," Moore said.

Moore said she was participating in the rally because she wanted to spread the word about why air pollution is so bad for kids and why "we need to change our ways."

"In the United States alone, 3 million tons of toxic chemicals are released into the environment each year," she said.

A group of Morningside Elementary students took turns reciting facts about air pollution. One student said idling for more than two minutes uses the same amount of fuel as driving a mile. Another student said 1 gallon of gas puts 19 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Utah Moms for Clean Air founder Cherise Udell said the kids were there to see the legislative process in action and wanted to meet with lawmakers about some of their concerns.

"These are tomorrow's voters," Udell said. "Starting at a very early age is extremely important." She said children who grow up in Utah have diminished lung capacity and will automatically have two years "shaved off their lives."