In 2018, scientists published a study showing that doctor visits for respiratory infections increased with the air pollution that periodically settled into the urban valleys of northern Utah—research that could prove relevant as researchers try to unlock the mysteries of Covid-19.
But if the Trump administration succeeds in finalizing a new rule that would place limits on the science used by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Utah study is exactly the kind of research that would be given less weight—or possibly ignored—in future U.S. environmental decision-making.