Follow me on Instagram @carolinegleich

Kennecott Mine from the air. Some people see this as a modern engineering achievement, but I've always thought it was an environmental disaster. Kennecott, or Bingham Canyon Mine, is the world's largest open pit mine, and the second most polluting mine in the US. Flying home to Utah from my former home of Minnesota, I can't help but wonder about the health effects of living in a place with such dirty air and contaminated soil. I worry about the high rates of cancer that seem to bubble up in certain neighborhoods, especially those that are downstream from mines. Utah's legacy is one of environmental abuse from industries that were largely unregulated until the 1970s. But regulations are still lax or nonexistent. My question is: why do we accept this as our reality? What can we do to change it? It's our world, our air and our water. It's time we hold industry responsible. I know change takes time, but I post this now to raise awareness and spread knowledge so we can take action when opportunities arise. #actonclimate