towards saturday. across texas, and the south, and we are looking at decent conditions. temperatures are warm. san antonio 83. that should stay for the weekend. dallas at 74. as we go to the next couple of day, the temperatures into the mid '60s. >> i'm thomas drayton. that'll do it for us. thanks for watching. >> hi, i'm lisa fletcher and you're in the extreme. outdoor enthusiasts flock to utah. for those at home, poor airquality has many asking if tourism and of the people are in jeopardy.

>> our digital producer is here bringing in your social media. utah's slogan, the greatest snow on earth. millions flock there. we discover tonight that lots of folks are shocked to find out about the level of air pollution. >> i'm from california, and we thought we had the worst air pollution. >> you do. >> we thought we were the only ones. we didn't know people could empathize. a lot gobbi to the parks. >> the olympics. >> second-worst air pollution. rj tweeted: i had a picture from utah. check out the beautiful mountains. same picture with the pollution. that's the same beautiful mountains, and that's what they are witnessing, and who to bham.

and this suggestion: >> that's a point of contention, who is to blame - the industries, the government, pollution, the people. we have a lot of community feedback. >> cars, buses, wood stoves. it has some hand in it. >> team usa goes for gold at the sochi winter olympics, there is a battle back home. one of the main training grounds - as we mentioned, it's over air pollution. utah has some of the worst air quality, because the polluted air is trapped in the valley, particularly in salt lake city. the government pushed to have rules on wood stoves. others say it's more about the industries like state's oil and gas refineries. how can utah get a breath of pressure. joining us is bryce bird, matt,

policy director at a nonprofit environmental group, gerard hanson is a professor at brieing enyoung. and amanda, a professional athlete. she started an organization called athletes for air. matt, we talked about it. people think of utah, and the clear blue skies, snow, crystal clear national parks. how seers is the air pollution problem? >> well on a handful of days each winter it's serious, depending on the weather patterns. it can range from a couple of days to a few dozen. we get levels of fine particle pollution. pm2.5, that can be the worst in america. we have decades of health research about the effects of fine particles. they burrow into your lungs, cross the blood barrier.

they are a serious problem for babies, the elderly, and there's a disturb suggestion that they play play a role in everything from autism to depression to low birth weight. >> if it's a handful of days, what is there to wore withe about. >> that's a good question. it is a handful of days. most of the time it happens during the winter time. when these handful of day, the pollution levels could be high, like matt talked about, we can get symptoms, it's hard to breed. it aggravates people with asthma. premature death. they have problems with heart and lung disease. it is a serious issue if it happens for a couple of days. we know about health issues. >> if you carry a baby, it can deliver a shock to that. the fact that it's a few days is

no reason to not work hard. >> what makes it bad to begin with. it's the inversion. for those not familiar, that is the scenario where warm air moves over the valley floor, usually there's snow, and emissions are dropped undered lid. we see the pollution building up until a storm comes and cleans us out. >> the community is talking about the impact on local you tans. >> jake tweets:utahans. >> jake tweets: >> we have a great video comment from neil. >> hi, i created the utah twitter box because i wanted to

broadcast whether it's great to be outdoors. i'm a cyclist. there's nothing more frustrating to stay indoors because of poor air quality. it's picked up by local and international scientists and some news outlets. >> talk about the impact the air pollution is having on the community? >> well, there's a huge impact from athletes to future athletes. but currently utah's home to 40%. winter olympic athletes that competed in 2010. as part of the training remmingment, a lot of us train outdoors. as -- regiment, a lot of us train outdoors. as a skier i run a lot, cycle a lot. the impact it has, it prevents

us from training and from working together as a community. from training together, from interacting. on the red air days or the days it says it's recommended forcepsive groups not to expose themselves, they are the days where athletes shouldn't train outside because of increased oxygen. those days limit the interaction with each other and the ability to train. i know athletes' friends that have left or are talking about leaving. for me as a cyclist, it's become - that's part of the reason that i helped to cofound the athletes for clear air. it's part of the reason i looked at leaving the state. >> for people without a good grasp - pretty much all of us - talk about in the basic terms why these particulars are so dangerous. i think i read they are 1/20th

the width of a human air. >> the particulates are very, very small. the particulate matter are 2.5 microns or smaller. your hair, if you have fine hair, is about 100 microns, smaller than the width of the human hair. because the particles are small, the bodies doesn't have great defense mechanisms, if you breathe in the small particles, you can breathe them in, they can get into the bloodstream and all sorts of problems can occur. >> is it - it's true, pm 2.5 is smaller than a human blood cell, and that's why it invads the human body. >> i wouldn't say it's smaller, but because it gets deep into the lungs, our bodies don't have

good defense measures. >> it's larger. >> it doesn't have the capability to get into the lungs and others we cough out. the pm 2.5 gets deep into the lungs and causes the problems. >> you are part of an environmental group, the environment in utah is a draw for tourism. it's the second biggest money maker for the state, somewhere around $8 billion. at what point does this impact tourism in utah. >> already for sure. i would take it a step further saying it's having an impact on development. the mountain west is one of the healthiest parts of the american economy. a lot of that growth comes from new business that wants a site here, and hire here and expand here. folks come here for a number of reasons. it's a great place to live.

half an hour from world class skiing. three hours from gorgeous country. the cities and valleys are where you want to live, it's where your kids go to school. the problem is you end up with the leaks, and you are trapped. that is driving folks away. it's affecting our job hiring. we see from a gentleman who heads the development corporation. jeff says his biggest fear is that he'll have a fortune 500 corporate executive coming to utah to think about a facility, and the day the person flies in, he'll fly into the funk. it's having a big impact. we need to take it easterlies. >> speaking about beijing-like funk. a lot of community members have spirited opinions. jake says:

>> well, matt brought up this affecting industry and economic development. that's what we'll talk about next, the politics of policy. the epa is critical of the way utah is handling the pollution crisis, and why the state senate related a bill that may have been able to do something about it. did you know you can interact with our show or on your tablet. there's an app for that. check this out. >> tv is no longer one way with the "the stream"'s second-stream act. tell us your thoughts. get app content. receive graphs, quizzes and guest information. interact with other app users in real time.

you can be the third cohost. vote, tweet, record comments and we'll feature them on air. use the app. this puts you in the control room. download it now at aljazeera.com/thesteam.app.

>> welcome back. we are talking about utah and its high levels of air pollution that rivals los angeles. the state legislature failed to pass a bill to put teeth in the current standards. i realise you were not on the policy-making end, but why wouldn't it be agreed when everyone seems in agreement. >> the legislature is still in session, we have hopes for a number of other positions. with air pollution, there are a couple of things, one is to have a plan to address it. the best way to do it is in the past. we have a long history of addressing air pollution. we are building upon the past

effort. one comparison that is invalid is comparing us to beijing. our worst days are about the same as their average days. really, we are talking hundreds of days difference and with our problem here, of course, los angeles, friendships, violates the standards - 105 days a year, and we are talking about 18 days a year. it's a particular problem with focus time during the year. the rest of the year we have good air quality. the annual average we do well. as has been mentioned the rest of the state is beautiful and certainly isn't impacted by the inversion urban situation. >> the epa, the u.s. epa is taking concern with utah. in part of a statement to us they said "this is a serious and complex problem,:

>> i took a look at the letter addressed to you, a 64-paged letter from the epa. what are some of those concerns that they are itemising. >> this is in response to an 1800 page plan we provided to them. the comments will be addressed. mostly they are technical. when it comes to strategies, it is an agreement. they helped us develop those. we expected comments back, we'd be addressing those as part of divisions to the plan. it's part of our interas with the environmental protection agency. >> is utah dragging its feet? >> i think so. a few days a year versus beijing's hundreds of days a year, it's kind of - it's not a correct thing. i don't believe it's a correct

statement to say that the rest of the air is great. it's not. our high levels of ozone as a mountain biker, it's a problem. while they may not be hacking up, the contents of a cold weather inversion. there are cluster migraines that others experienced in the valley because of levels of ozone. it's not fair to place blame on any one industry. and i think a lot of people are looking to place blame. instead, we should look for solutions to the unique problems that are presented here in utah. >> here is a solution proposed by jennifer - i like bills that tie up: and:

plus one for the habit reference, clair. and: >> matt, speaking about precedent, should utah politicians tighten up when it comes to regulation. industry, do you think, is being made into a scapegoat. >> it's too strong a word. the truth is that significant improvement in the air quality requires sacrifice froms a wide array of sectors. that's everyone from folks and drive cars to people who own homes to refineries and copper mines being willing to put in the best possible pollution qualities. building the 21st century utah, we have a population expected to

double. we are living in a valley ripped by minds, we need a bold vision. it needs to come from folks at the highest levels. we need to invest hundreds of millions into a better bus network to feed to the good light rail. and think carefully about some of the zoning and planning. do we want to drawl and sprawl and sprawl, or do we want to make an amazing city built around transit-oriented development. we are doing good on the small to midsized staff. staff are supergood at their jobs. we need big money and big decisions from the top. >> matt said invest. this is an investment in our fewer, in utah's future. it's an investment in sustainable and profitable future economics. that's what this is, an

investment. we need to look at it as an investment in utah. how do you see that translating to getting traction within the legislation. the utah legislator passed a law saying the state of utah cannot have its environmental standards exceed what the federal minimum is, which is contrary to most other states. it seems there's already a feeling within the legislator, so they don't have to go further than they have to on environmental quality for the state. >> you mentioned one of the many challenges we have. the april and solution is uprising. community outreach, focus the effort to bring the attention to the elected officials. we have seen that. in past years we have seen one or two air quality bills in the legislature, this year we are over 20. it is a reflection of the

interest and, of course, that focus of that grass roots effort to bring the attention where it needs to be. >> our community, wildlife momma - great name: >> coming up, what is at stake if the air stays dirty. our guests will weigh in on the lopping-term -- long-term affects of pollution after the break.

. >> hello utah. >> we have an air quality problem here, if you haven't notice the. >> what are you going to do to help the air quality? >> welcome back. utah has some of the worst air quality in the country, where millions of tourists go to enjoy

outdoor recreation. we talked about the health impact on vulnerable groups like pregnant mum, kids and elderly. it's not as severe for those that come and go, the tourists. has enough research been done about long-term health consequences. another good question. there has been some studies done by my colleagues at the university. they don't look at specifically the air in utah, but a combination of air. they look at people in the los angeles base. there's new research coming to light. new conclusions that are reached. about the health effect living in porely polluted air. >> bryce, you have dead lines in the next five years. what is the likelihood of that. >> we have a long history of

developing plans. >> epa's process is to make standards protective. we are very confident that the reduction strategies, but it's not the end. we need to focus on everything we can to reduce emissions. growth is a huge issue, we have an opportunity to determine how the growth continues in the future. >> if have you to pick one thing to focus on in terms of being a major polluter, what would you put your finger on? >> transportation emissions, it's hard to get people out of that occupant vehicle. we need to do a better job. whether it's public transportation, whether it's working or education. it's the number one issue that we need to address. >> the community has tweeted in:

>> i do not want to end this on a despondent note. let's not make utah smog the terrible. what can regular citizens do, to make sure that the air is breathable and better in 2019? >> there's so many things we can do. thank you for the question. it's a big part of the campaign, personal responsibility, whether it's calling the legislatures, the people that you elected to do their jobs. to turning down the heat in your home, driving less, carpooling.

not idling at your children's school, not taking one person in your car up the canyon, to not burning wood. there's so many things we can all do on a daily basis to improve this. turning down the heat. encouraging friends and family. and oftentimes that point of contact makes a difference if you just say something. >> matt, amanda mentioned public transportation, that's something that has to be funded via tax dollars. is there the political wheel to do that in utah? >> it's the $6 million question. we have to reconcile the sort of conflict between utah's limited regulation business-friendly state, something our leaders are proud of, and a place colliding with the realities of a valley ring by mountains. the big question for utah in the next years, decade or two is

what future will we build. will we build a jewel in the mountains for people that live in this beautiful place, with progressive businesses, or are we going to slide down the hill towards sort of overly urbanized smog-filled valleys. it's a tough question to answer well. i'm optimistic. like bryce said, we have great stuff coming from the legislature, we have a governor that has taken on the issue, and we have dedicated professionals looking at it. i like to be optimistic. we are heading in the right direction, and we are making tough decisions. >> from a science perspective, what do you want to see happen? >> 75% of the particular matter - that's when we get in trouble with the federal government, comes from emissions from cars. like bryce talked about, we are aware of where the sources are

coming from, but the biggest pieces to take cars off the road. we need a better robust developed system. and it will take personal sacrifices, people need to take the bus instead of their car. it will take individual sacrifices. >> we have about 30 seconds left. what does success for utah look like for you? >> success for utah means the state of sports needs to be the state of sport. instead of giving industry free rein, we need to enforce regulations on everyone. >> thank you to all our guests. until next time, we'll see you online at aljazeera.com/ajmstream. see you tomorrow.

>> an explosion hits the southern part of lebanon's capital, beirut. we'll have a live report in a moment. >> hello, i'm steven cole in doha, with the world news from al jazeera. also in the program - looking like a war zone. central kiev shrouded in smoke after ukraine's deadliest anti-government protest yet. >> in venezuela, protest leaders call on forces to surrender to police. >> an