Basic History
The region was first explored by the Spanish in 1776. Permanent settlement began in 1847. The U.S. acquired the Utah region in the treaty ending the Mexican War in 1848. In the next 50 years, the state had to learn techniques of combating frequent invasions, confronting the Native Americans, and also had to face opposition from the federal government. In 1850, a large area, of which the present state was a part, was constituted Utah Territory. Utah became a state in 1896.
Environmental History
Common trees and shrubs include four species of pine and three of juniper, aspen, cottonwood, maple, hawthorn, chokecherry, Utah oak, Joshua tree, and blue spruce.
Mule deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, lynx, grizzly and black bears, and white and black-tailed jackrabbits are the most common of Utah’s mammals.
23 animal species are listed as threatened or endangered in Utah. Among them are the bald eagle, Utah prairie dog, three species of chub, whooping crane, southwestern willow flycatcher, and woundfin.
Green Initiatives
Regional hospitals in Utah support green initiatives and work to improve the environment in the state and save energy throughout the year. The Green Team has helped increase recycling of aluminum cans, cardboard, construction waste, paper, plastic bottles, and toner cartridges. Creative and innovative energy savings ideas about water, heating, and air-conditioning have been implemented by the team. They conserve electricity and natural gas output, and use a computer program to monitor and change room temperatures according to demand. A heat recovery system for the hospitals has saved millions of pounds of CO2 gases by recovering wasted heat energy and reusing it; the reduction in CO2 gases is like taking hundreds of cars off the road in CO2 emissions. The team has also saved millions of gallons of water through steam-saving projects on boiler-feed water system.
With its many natural wonders, there’s no doubt that residents and government officials would want to do what they can to preserve Utah’s environment. According to Utah Clean Energy, there are several green initiatives on the agenda, which include: incentives for highly energy efficient new homes and retrofits; clean air and efficient vehicle tax incentives; use of state alternative fuel network; state agency energy savings; renewable energy development zones task force; energy resource and carbon emission reduction initiative; renewable energy standards for utilities; and solar energy generation tax credit.
