electric vehicles

Zion National Park is replacing its propane-powered buses with new zero-emission electric shuttles, like the one seen here on Sept. 4, 2024. The project is part of the park’s plan to manage booming visitor numbers while preserving its natural landscape and clean air.

Zion National Park rolls out fully electric shuttle bus fleet

David Condos

Replacing Zion’s propane-powered buses is part of the park’s plan to manage booming visitor numbers while preserving its natural landscape and clean air.

Gayna Salinas stands near a trailer, left, on land owned by Anson Resources, and a defunct uranium mine, right, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Green River, Utah. The Australian company with its U.S. subsidiaries is eyeing a nearby area to extract lithium. Salinas, whose family farms in the rural community, said she was skeptical about the project's benefits.

Science & Environment

In rural Utah, concern over efforts to use Colorado River water to extract lithium

Associated Press

The plan from an Australian company, Anson Resources, has sparked concerns about the lithium project's potential water use, especially as the company seeks rights to water from a tributary of the Colorado River.

A view of sparse traffic on I-15 looking south toward downtown Salt Lake City from the 600 N interchange, Sept. 12, 2023.

Science & Environment

UDOT expects a 30% air quality bump with the I-15 expansion. Is that possible?

Saige Miller

PM2.5 is projected to decrease 30% by 2050 according to UDOT’s environmental impact statement on the I-15 expansion. But most of that is achieved through improving efficiency and electrification.

Visitors board one of the five electric shuttle buses recently introduced at Zion National Park, Sept. 22, 2023. It’s part of the park’s long-term plan to preserve its natural beauty while its crowds grow.

Sports & Recreation

Zion National Park’s shuttle buses are ditching the propane and going electric

David Condos

The new shuttles are part of Zion’s long-term plan to manage growing visitor numbers while preserving the park’s natural beauty.

The proposed exploration project would test for lithium just a few miles outside of Canyonlands National Park, seen here from Dead Horse Point, March 18, 2023.

Science & Environment

Conservationists are uneasy with a lithium mining plan on public land near Moab

David Condos

A lithium exploration proposal near Canyonlands National Park in southeast Utah has prompted concerns about how the project would affect the area’s natural landscape.

A worker and the autonomous robotic machines sort out goods at the Chinese online retailer JD.com's warehouse in Beijing on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021.

Business & Economy

The Inland Port wants to be Utah’s magnet for tech jobs and electrification

Eric S. Peterson | Utah Investigative Journalism Project

Warehouse automation could change the logistics workforce while underdeveloped trucking technology could mean more polluting trucks in the Inland Port for the near future.

The inversion hanging over Salt Lake City as seen from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Feb. 4, 2023.

Politics & Government

After last week’s bad inversion, here are Utah lawmakers’ air quality proposals

Sean Higgins

Among other ideas, the Senate passed a resolution on Monday to encourage Utahns to reduce vehicle idling.

The Salt Lake City School District is currently the only district in Utah with fully electric buses. Six of the district's eight are seen here, May 31, 2022.

Science & Environment

Utah to get a small share of the fed’s $1B for electric school buses

Associated Press

Eureka in Juab County’s Tintic School District and Vernal in the Uintah County School District will receive a combined 12 buses in the first round of funding.

Ken Martinez, transportation director for the Salt Lake City School District, pulls the charger out of one of his eight electric buses, May 31, 2022.

Science & Environment

Cleaner yellow school buses could be a small part of clearing up Utah’s dirty air

Jon Reed

There are just eight fully electric school buses in Utah. Expanding the fleet could reduce air pollution for some of the most vulnerable areas — schools.