Hi Donna,
Wow, I can't tell you how great it was to find your site! Thank you so much for writing your blog, I really appreciate it, it is well written and I look forward to reading more of your articles. (I have been to Victoria and I loved it.) Well here goes, at the risk of sounding a bit nutty about it all:
(Reality check from Donna: Suzanne, you are not nutty. You are SANE, conscious and careful with your health and your loved ones health. Bravo!)
The thing is, I share so many of your concerns about clean air, it's really nice to see that I'm not alone. (although i do feel i am much more obsessive and fanatical than you, my poor husband can testify to that!) I always feel like I'm alone when it comes to my concerns/"fear" over the air i breathe; people and friends around me seem so carefree and oblivious about it, (even my mommy friends don't seem to care as we push around our strollers and trucks roll by or an air blower is encountered and while i want to run in the other direction, which I can't help it cause i do...they don't seem to even blink twice! what is going on here??) and I feel constantly vigilant about finding fresh air to breathe. I go out of my way to stay away from or rush away when I encounter those disgusting air blowers, (THEY NEED TO BE BANNED!) motorcycles, or anything that is chugging out crud. I really do feel my friends and aquaintances think im a bit nutty about it, so I try to keep my freaking out over bad air to myself (except my poor husband). Maybe it's cause i have respiratory problems, maybe it's cause i don't want my one yr old to breathe dirtier air than he has to. With that being said....you will think I am crazy for living where i do....but these air concerns only heightened I believe, when I unknowingly moved after I got married into my husband's home and i realized what terrible air quality there is here.I live in Costa Mesa within a triangle of freeways; the 55, 405 and the 73. Of course there is also John Wayne Airport.
I have already purchased a few very expensive air purifiers (Blueair, as well as an IQAir, the one that was used in Beijing for the Olympic athletes). I am working with my husband to get us the heck out of here SO, my question for you is this...in the meantime, what is the lesser of two evils? staying indoors with air purifiers on, or going outside? I always hear about INDOOR air quality being terrible due to off-gassing of furniture, resins, glues, formaldehyde from kitchen cabinets and plywood etc....aaargh! what is someone suppposed to do? I am skeptical that the air purifiers are having a dramatic effect on cleaning the air in my home, they can only do so much and I don't believe they are getting to the VOC's in the air unfortunately. I also share your skepticism with the EPA, etc etc. i mean come on, lets get real. Like we are really going to get accurate reporting of leakage etc from companies too. Pleez!
Thank you again, sorry about the long rant.
Suzanne
Oh Suzanne!
I feel for you! Living near three freeways is not good. I want you to read the health impacts of living near freeway studies, which I have listed at The Clean Air Guide. Please don't get too freaked out, for these studies reflect accumulation over years, though it isn't pretty to know those of us living near freeways risk higher rates of cancer and cardio-vascular diseases, especially women post-menopausal who've lived near freeways for years.
In my opinion, you are MOST sane, conscious, and right on! to think of getting away from the freeways.
If you must stay in Southern California, I suggest heading for a beach town that isn't too close to a marina, and most certainly isn't near the ports. Of course, winds change directions, and no one in Southern California is immune to transportation exhaust, which is bad to breathe.
As mentioned in this blog, so far in my travels I like the Pacific Northwest the best, I'm completely in love with most of British Columbia though I haven't figured out exactly where I'd want to land or how to make it work. If you go, write me and I'll steer you away from areas with pulp mills or pesticides from farming.
You say you have a young child and husband so I understand needing to consider their needs. Clean air must remain a priority for all of you, in my opinion. It's hard to imagine you might be more fanatical about this than me. Also, don't get down on yourself for living by the freeways. We all (including me) weren't born to the wealth of clean air. We come to our sensitivities as to when enough smog is enough smog at different times of our lives. And what we're willing to give up in order to breathe clean air. Nothing in my opinion is more important. It feels horrible to choke on filthy air and know that the temporary discomfort could accumulate to something worse. But there are alternatives out there.
Meanwhile, given your situation I believe the lesser of the two evils of indoor and outdoor air, is indoor. I say stay indoors with air purifiers and plants over outdoors near three freeways. Take your outdoor exercise near the beach, assuming you are not near ships. You are also correct to be concerned if you're on a plane's flight path, they leave a black carbon trail in the air, which I believe is particularly worse upon take-off and landing.
You are not freaking out about bad air. In my opinion, people breathing toxins that don't freak out are asleep at the wheel, perhaps, a necessary defense in order to go about life as usual but people like us are necessary to keep things real and healthier.
I hope you can vacation in clean air if not move in the near future.
Please note, I offer information about how to write the EPA with testimony requesting stricter nitrogen dioxide standards here. If you have a few minutes, I encourage you to be a clean air activist, and, when you're done if you can, go where you can breathe clean air.
Best wishes,
Donna
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