Utah's Becoming of the World

Back in early December we were driving along I-15 and passed through the Lehi area. A building off the freeway reminded me of the drab cement buildings I saw in Ulaanbaatar and Beijing many years ago.

 

The day was a big hazy, with smog beginning to choke the valleys. When we drove over the point of the mountain, both into Utah county and into Salt Lake County, it reminded me of driving into Los Angeles where you could hardly see the horizon, with smoggy-hazy obscurations hiding what was more than a few miles away.

While smog has been increasing over the last few decades, and there are times of the year when inversions make things worse, it used to have a different feeling driving into the valleys.

Several years ago I drove into one of the cities in the south Salt Lake area. Exiting the freeway it felt like I was driving into a city outside of Utah, there was the feeling of grit, dirt, and it felt darker. 

It's hard to really describe but it used to be that walking up to a nationwide retail store in Utah county felt different--in a good way--that walking into the same retail store in California or Florida, where it felt like I needed to be more aware and cautious. Now most of the retail stores have the same feeling in Utah as in other parts of the country.

It's almost like you can see and feel the dirt and grime, even on clean floors, that stain the environment as more and more people turn to the world.

Most people aren't aware of it. The change hasn't been immediate. But more and more of Utah is becoming more like the rest of the world.