Noon.
My car was newly washed when I backed out of my indoor Los Angeles garage to traverse four major freeways to get to the Anaheim Convention Center in Orange County.
I passed diesel trucks, school buses, and construction zones.
I passed streams of black smoke emanating from metal cyclinders on trucks.
Black poison I surmised.
And for the zillionth time I thought how I hate breathing poison, and why aren't those truck owners penalized?
And then I thought I'm going to a convention.
I'm meeting many people and companies at one shot.
Not several meetings taking several separate trips.
I had my positive spin as I arrived to Anaheim Convention Center.
1:00 p.m.
I parked on Hilton's roof, meaning--no overhead coverage.
1:00 p.m. -- 7:15 p.m. I had meetings.
7:30 p.m.
I returned to my car, which was caked with dust and particulate matter from the bad air.
A reminder of why leaving Los Angeles for cleaner air is desirable.
And today's headline story in Los Angeles underscores the point.
Today EPA's chief declared pollution standards are too weak to protect people's health from the air they breathe.
Will he do anything about it under pressure from big business?
Well Los Angeles can't even make those loose standards.
We keep scoring F F F for ozone, particulate matter and more junk in the air than any other city, with corresponding poor health of children and sensitive people. (Everyone else, basically, we're human)
There's an energy bill heading to the Senate to change fuel standards to require car manufacturers to make cars with at least 35 mpg by 2020. If Republicans have their way, it won't pass the majority SUV "enjoy the road and keep making gas-guzzler requirements".
Personally, I think humans are amazingly smart, creative, and given the motivation we can figure our way into helpful technologies as opposed to using outdated technologies that for one reason or another are not working.
So big polluting business, get to serious work on change rather than defending the old order. And please find a way to bury every diesel truck and school bus.
