Clean air is essential for a healthy quality of life for our region. Breathing in fresh air and enjoying our region’s abundant outdoor natural beauty is what some of us love most about calling the West home. But contrary to the idyllic image that might conjure up, many of the states across the Interior West are home to some of the nation’s worst air quality.  Although we might often think of carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, when we talk about climate pollution and the need to reduce emissions to tackle climate change, many of the sources that contribute to the climate crisis also produce harmful, even toxic, air pollution that is impacting our communities. The exhaust generated from burning fossil fuels to power our cars, planes, trains, homes, industries, and office buildings all carries with it both a detrimental impact for our climate, and a potentially lethal impact for our communities.  For the second episode of our Climate Nexus series, we speak with WRA’s Utah-based general counsel and air quality expert Joro Walker, WRA’s Transportation Electrification Policy Analyst Deborah Kapiloff, and WRA’s former Senior Managing Attorney in Nevada Cameron Dyer to explore the connection between the transportation sector and burning fossil fuels, the air we breathe, and our goals to act on climate.Take action to protect clean air in Utah:https://westernresourceadvocates.org/action/protect-clean-air-and-public-health-in-utah/Support advancing clean cars across the West:https://westernresourceadvocates.org/action/stand-with-wra-in-advancing-clean-cars-in-the-west/Support WRA's work to protect clean air and transition to clean energy for our region:https://westernresourceadvocates.org/donate/donate-now/

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

Want to be part of 2 Degrees Out West?

• Email us with suggestions on topics and interviewees at [email protected].
• Tweet us @wradv or DM us @westernresourceadvocates.
• Create a 40-sec clip sharing "What you like about the West" and send it to us at [email protected] to be included in one of our next episodes.
• Join our email list to stay updated on when new episodes are released and calls to action on how you can help the West.
• Become a sponsor of WRA and the 2 Degrees Out West podcast. Show your support for the land, air, water, and people of the West today!

Thanks for listening. Let's all work together to keep the West wild.