With USU Marketing professor Edwin Stafford.
As the 2034 Olympic Games enter Utahns' radar, Ed and his colleagues, Roslynn McCann and Randy Martin, think the games could be an opportunity to improve our air quality.
Ed is here to tell us more about their strategy and what they hope to do.
Wynter Varner
Thank you for joining us today, Ed.
Edwin Stafford
Thank you very much for having me today.
Wynter Varner
Why are you using the Olympic Games as a focal point for this change?
Edwin Stafford
I've been studying the Olympic Games and sustainability issues for many years.
What we've found is, in our research, that the Olympics very often become a focal point for communities or cities to actually get big things done.
I was watching the Paris Olympics back in 2024 and saw that the Seine River, which was very polluted, created some major problems.
At first, they had to cancel the men's triathlon because the river was too polluted, but then it got only postponed because they found that the river did get clean enough for people to swim in it.
But then when people did swim in it, they got sick.
Now some of the other preparations that Paris did were very successful. They literally eliminated roads, eliminated parking spots, installed bike lanes, and basically made it a much more walkable, bikeable community, all in preparation for the Olympics.
So many other Olympic cities have also used the Olympics as a way to address key issues.
The two key issues that are facing Utah in terms of the environment are the Great Salt Lake and its shrinkage, and also our ongoing air pollution.
If you think about it, air pollution is going to be very important for our athletes.
These types of things started getting me to think about what is important here.
So, I recruited two of my other colleagues, and the three of us decided to come up with and figure out how we could try to get Utah's air cleaned up in time for the games.
If we do have a pollution cloud during the games, that could menace the games in two ways: one in just sheer optics, and also in performance.
Wynter Varner
What areas could the state improve practices in to enhance our air quality?
Edwin Stafford
Our first major recommendation is that we need to electrify transportation.
This is important because about 50% of our air pollution during the winter is from the tailpipes of cars and trucks.
So, we are identifying the barriers that are preventing people from adopting electric vehicles.
One of them is we don't have enough charging infrastructure. In fact, Utah is considered to be an electric vehicle charging desert.
One of the programs that I'm working with right now is a group called "Leaders for Clean Air." It's a nonprofit based in Salt Lake City, and its mission is to get employers to install charging stations in their parking lots so that their employees can charge their EVs for free.
The group has some anecdotal evidence to suggest that when companies do put in EV charging that is a free perk for their employees, employees actually adopt electric vehicles.
We're already seeing some companies that are putting that in, and we'd love to put in thousands more between now and 2034.
I'm working with Leaders for Clean Air to try to figure out how we can get that implemented.
Wynter Varner
What's another way you're hoping air quality can be improved in time for the Olympic Games?
Edwin Stafford
You know, one of the other things we're looking at is electrifying buildings.
About 40% of our winter air pollution comes from buildings, and that is from heating those buildings that have emissions, such as paint shops, mechanic shops, and things of that nature.
One of the issues that we're looking at is how we can get electrified kitchens into Utah.
Right now, a lot of chefs and home cooks like to cook with natural gas. People think that cooking with gas is the best way to do it.
Well, there's electrified induction stoves that can cook incredibly quickly. They're very easy to clean. They're very efficient.
Given that we're going to have so many people in the valley, and we're going to be cooking for a lot of these people, I think commercial chefs may seriously think about switching to induction stoves between now and 2034.
If they're going to retrofit and change their kitchens, perhaps switching from natural gas to electric induction stoves could be one of those options.
Wynter Varner
Thank you for joining us today, Ed.
Edwin Stafford
Great. Thank you for your interest in my work.
Wynter Varner
For more information on these and other clean energy proposals, you can visit extension.usu.edu. This has been the USU Extension Education Highlights. Thank you for tuning in.
