As the Utah Foundation noted in its recent report “Going for the Green: How Utah Can Thrive in a New Climate Economy,” zero- and low-emission vehicles offer a path to decreasing the harmful fossil-fuel emissions that cause climate change and pollute our air, even with more drivers on the road and regardless of whether the electricity used for charging comes from renewables. While transitioning to cleaner sources of electricity would create even greater emissions-reduction benefits, … Continued
We keep getting told that it’s too late or it’s almost too late, that climate change is changing in the worst way possible. It’s not just that we’re witnessing unrelenting droughts or unstoppable fires. It’s that our very breath is being taken away, and politicians prefer to equivocate rather than act. “What should be our top priorities for reducing pollutants? What concrete steps can we take today that will bring a real return in better … Continued
On October 13, the Utah Foundation will hold an important online Breakfast Briefing on air quality in Utah. Among the questions the panel will address: * How will a rapidly growing Utah grapple with the air quality challenges ahead? * What new strategies will the Cox-Henderson administration bring to the table? * What plans does the inland port have for air quality stewardship? * What should be our top priorities for reducing pollutants? * What … Continued
Utah’s largest coal-fired power plant is headed to early retirement in 2025, but the Intermountain Power Project’s transition to natural gas and hydrogen could offset associated job losses suffered by the state’s flagging coal industry if it kickstarts a green-energy revolution in Utah. That’s according to a new report by the Utah Foundation exploring the economic impact of the Intermountain Power Authority’s (IPA) plan, dubbed IPP Renewed, to move its 40-year-old Millard County plant away … Continued
The good thing about Utah’s growth planning is that, for the most part, it is bottom up and coping mechanisms are voluntary. No super agency is mandating how growth rolls out or how we deal with it. But we can be decentralized and still improve collaboration among sectors. We also have a lot of smart people in agencies and think tanks who could work together to figure out how to better integrate all planning efforts. … Continued
Today, the Utah Foundation releases Plugging into the Future of Electricity: The Economic Impacts of the IPP Renewed Project. Having provided coal-generated electricity since the mid-1980s, the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) has decided to build a combined-cycle gas power plant by 2025 to replace the coal-fueled generators. The plan, known as IPP Renewed, will include a turbine that runs on a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen, with 30% hydrogen at start-up, transitioning to 100% … Continued
Going back 200 years, strong citizen engagement in the democratic process and in civic improvement has served as a barometer of the vitality of the American republic. It’s a matter of good government: At the state and local levels, civic engagement has significant implications for the effectiveness and efficiency of government, the quality of services and the responsiveness of public officials to citizen priorities. A decline in civic engagement can reduce the accountability of the … Continued
The Utah Foundation just released a report on the stunning strength of citizen participation in public meetings. But then it turned to the curious news of low voter turnout. It says we “surged” to 13th out of the 50 states in the 2020 midterms, but fell to 39th in the presidential election. What gives? We know Utahns get hot and bothered about all kinds of issues, but voting? Meh. That is likely because of the … Continued
… When you pay taxes on a home, business valuation or even an automobile in Utah, chances are some of that money is going to fund water infrastructure owned by municipal providers or wholesalers that sell water to cities. A 2019 report from the Utah Foundation concluded that 90% of Utahns live in a jurisdiction that collects property taxes for water. The Washington County Water District, for instance, a water wholesaler and retailer that provides … Continued
Civic engagement means more than voting — it’s any way you can get involved in the political process. A lot of Utah voters pride themselves on their civic engagement. But according to the Utah Foundation’s recent study on civic engagement, we could improve in a few ways. Watch the video above to see what Utahns are doing to make changes in their communities, as well as how they can improve.
The Utah Foundation was approached by Hispanic business, civil and elected leaders who asked the organization to provide key data related to Utah’s Hispanic and Latino population. The project, which received support from the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, highlighted disparities and challenges the community faces. Some of the data in the 2021 report includes: Hispanic Utahns tend to have poorer educational outcomes and far lower educational attainment when compared to all Utahns, in general. … Continued
Utahns regularly pack public meetings to speak their mind on tax reform. Or expanding Medicaid. Or big housing developments planned for their neighborhoods. More recently, they’ve gathered to express their views on face masks and vaccines. If it seems like Utahns attend more public meetings than those in other states, it is because they do. A new Utah Foundation study has the state ranked third in the nation in public meeting participation. “It is indicative … Continued
Utah Foundation Releases Citizen Engagement Report A new report from the Utah Foundation shows voter turnout has improved in Utah since 2006. But compared to the rest of the country, it was still on the low end in the 2020 presidential election. The Civic Engagement Report released Tuesday looked at how Utahns engage with their government. It measured voter turnout, public meeting attendance and the number of advocacy organizations. The state trails the nationwide rate … Continued
Today, the Utah Foundation launches its new Utah Social Capital Series with The Measure of a Citizen: Civic Engagement in Utah. This first installment in the series focuses on civic engagement. It presents data and analysis on three key measures: voter turnout; citizen attendance at public meetings; and the number of advocacy organizations. It looks at Utah’s performance on these measures over time, comparing the Beehive State both to the seven other Mountain States and … Continued
Mending the Net: Exploring Homeless Service Gaps in Salt Lake County is a new report released by the Utah Foundation that looks at gaps in services for the homeless in Salt Lake County. RadioACTive spoke with Jesus Valero, the report’s author and a professor of political science at the University of Utah, and Shawn Teigen, the Foundation’s Research Director.
A couple of years back, a mental health professional asked me to sit down with him. He had noticed a big uptick in his teen patients coming in with an acute sense of foreboding. Among the issues that seemed to trouble them most were apocalyptic worries about global climate change ruining their future. But it wasn’t the topic that alarmed the therapist most; it was the growing anxiety. And that was before 2020. That was … Continued
Mike Parsons, Public Affairs Director at Cumulus Media, sat down with Utah Foundation Research Director Shawn Teigen to talk about the Utah Foundation’s July report Going for the Green: How Utah Can Thrive in the New Climate Economy. The conversation was part of the Wasatch Gazette that plays on Sundays on: B98.7, KBER101, K-Bull 93.3, 860am, and Power94.9. Listen to the interview here: .
Shawn Teigen, Research Director for the Utah Foundation, joins Rod to discuss the results of a study that shows the gaps in homeless services in Salt Lake County, particularly in the areas of housing and employment services. Listen to the audio here:
SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) – After working on a research report aimed to find the biggest gaps in homeless services in Salt Lake County, one thing was very clear to Shawn Teigen, Research Director for the Utah Foundation. “I think the obvious thing is that the kind of makeshift encampments along streets in town – that isn’t the solution. That’s not a solution for people that are living in these communities and then are … Continued
A new report from a Utah group is examining how the state can better serve the homeless population. Salt Lake County is currently where half the state’s homeless population can be found. “You’re seeing more people that are downtown, sleeping in a tent beside a road somewhere and you’re seeing these little encampments,” said Shawn Teigen, research director for the Utah Foundation. Teigen, along with others, are concerned that rising housing prices, combined with the … Continued
Housing options, employment services top list of unmet needs Today, the Utah Foundation released Mending the Net: Exploring Homeless Service Gaps in Salt Lake County. The third report in the Utah Foundation’s Homelessness Series draws from a wide-ranging survey of homeless service providers to explore the overarching service gaps. In particular, the report identifies areas where there is the greatest need for service expansions or enhancements. It also explores whether adequate collaboration is occurring to … Continued
