Seeing the Air
I have lived in California all my life and I've seen my fair share of smog. Today, however, I looked at the air quality with the help of some fellow Californians and even a couple of outside observers.In the morning we started out in Fresno, discussing Prop 87 with community members concerned with the air quality in the Central Valley. Under a hazy hot sun, they viewed our biodiesel and hybrid vehicles that we are driving up and down the state. Stephanie from the Latino Issues Forum shared her frustration with the pollution that has become a way of life in the Central Valley. Michelle from the American Lung Association noted that the schools here lose a lot of money when children stay home sick with asthma, caused by air pollution.
After lunch we hit the road for Sequoia National Park. We drove through the smog--made worse because of the heat, to get to Grant Cove, home to a 268-foot sequoia. While gazing at the 1650 year-old tree we struck up a conversation with a few park goers from Chicago. When approached about air quality the couple looked at each other and laughed, “yeah, you can talk to us about air quality.” They lamented that California is the only place where they can “see the air.”
posted by Car Tour Team | Thursday, September 14 | Link to this post
