Chasing Clean Air

Your Turn: More Than An Ozone Number

This article has been cross-posted at Moms Clean Air Force.

Yellow!

Orange!

Where's the green! 

If we're to progress toward bluer skies, we've got to offer solutions for industry and individuals to take action!

The other day Chasing Clean Air reader, Irene Kittrell, asked my impression about an EPA Greenversations blog post called Raising the Flag for Air Quality Awareness, which highlighted schools in North Carolina that raise colored flags depending on air quality alert of the day.

If it's an orange flag, naturally, no Jungle Jim.

But the EPA blog post left Johnny stuck inside.

If Johnny's stuck inside because adults can't figure out how to keep the skies clean, then Johnny and his classmates should be indoors writing legislators, energy and transportation executives, and the EPA, making them accountable and stating,

"Do something to clean our air!"

A Malibu We Will Go - Part 2

A Malibu We Will Go - Part 1

By chance or fate, my eyes followed destiny to a Malibu Beach R V Park sign, which fit perfectly into my open mind:

Might I afford Malibu now?

Encouraged by the possiblity, I encouraged Gershon to,

"Turn here!"

He lumbered up the hill in a mature Jaguar to the scene of my first RV Park, overlooking a Pacific Ocean that clearly spoke to me.

A Malibu We Will Go - Part 1

On the occasion of getting serious about leaving Los Angeles (as opposed to writing about leaving Los Angeles), I dipped my toe in the metaphoric water and drove to Malibu.

"I am open to the world!" I declared with the courage of one who desires to remain close to wonderful Los Angeles dance friends but within an ability to breathe clean air.  

And there on Pacific Coast Highway stuck behind a Winnebago, giving me the luxury of time to think about how I'd pay to live in Malibu, my eyes fell like a thud on a sign with big black letters,

 

 

MALIBU BEACH RV PARK

 

 

I looked up the hill, and glistening under the sun were magenta bougainvillea, purple morning glory, prickly pear cacti, and the glimmer of a silver recreational vehicle (RV) with room for a view!

The Pacific blue waters seemed to reach for Japan. Five storks flew in procession overhead. Lilac fragrance filled the air.

"Turn right!" I said adamantly to my driving companion, I mean, driver, Gershon. (He is not a pickle though that name... Why does it remind me of Junior's Deli?)

He spoke slowly, "Here?"

The Mexican American Border Wall Alters Wildlife Without Their Vote

Animals in the wild roam free in order to live, eat, and drink.

And they need to roam free in order to survive.

Some countries like Canada prioritize maintaining wildlife populations where there are roadblocks, say highways, and build the animals bridges. And others like today's America creates a border wall at the Mexican American line that negatively impacts bison, longhorn sheep, and antelopes' ability to roam.

Many respected individuals document how the wall isn't working in regard to its goal, and in regard to a flourishing environment.

2011 State of the Air American Lung Association Report

According to the State of the Air American Lung Association Report, 90% of Californians breathe unhealthy air.

Many experts agree that fine particulate matter (like found in diesel soot) is the worst offender.

With that in mind, the California Cleanest Counties for Short-term Particle Pollution (24-hour PM2.5) include:

The Boy Who Wanted Ice Cream

Step aside Los Angeles traffic and smog, there's a new raucous kid in the neighborhood taking a heavy weight title.

Heavy on locals hearts and patience, that is, and exacerbating kids' asthma.

Let's talk construction.

Los Angeles could easily be voted Over-Construction Capital of America.

Construction is out of control. It seems you can't travel a Los Angeles block without seeing construction workers, trucks, dust, and ensuing traffic. Occasionally  builders put pretty fences around their emerging property, as if to say, see, it ain't so bad.

But it is.

So I've gotten educated on how the cost of progress got so SO, and found a loose framework operating around Los Angeles City Planning. I'll tell you a bit about it, and then please dive into my construction inspired fable, The Boy And His Ice Cream.

Slow Growth vs Smart Growth 

Proposition U or Slow Growth introduced 20 plus years ago, created restrictions to over-building in Los Angeles. The idea was to limit traffic congestion, which ruins roads, drive-times, air quality, and quality of life.

SB375 or Smart Growth signed into California law in 2008, challenged 18 metro planning organizations (MPO's) to come up with sustainable communities strategies to lower greenhouse emissions with integrated land use, housing, and transportation solutions.

The idea came from successful smart growth planning programs in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Portland.

In California, smart growth started in Sacramento. Fueled by SB375, it gave tools for builders to get things up. And higher, too. Mixed use buildings could get away with more because ostensibly they were adding value to a community... the assumption was the community could now work and shop near home.

 

The Boy And His Ice Cream

A Fable by Donna Barnett

But in Los Angeles smart growth was interpreted like someone said, the kid needs a scoop of ice cream. So someone bought 10 worn-out-in-need-of-renovation Baskin Robbin ice cream stores, and demolished the old (dust!) buildings in order to build new spanky clean "smart" Baskin Robbin buildings with mama and papa apartments on top. And more trucks, dirt, noise, traffic congestion, and increased carbon emissions made quality of life for residents intolerable.

But that was okay because no pain no gain, no ice cream.

So one kid's Baskin Robbin's store was built to the tune of another neighborhood kid's asthma, what with all those diesel trucks under his bedroom window. And our first kid's mom worked nights as a nurse, and she had to sleep during the day. No sleep for her. Construction happened during days, and being that building construction was near freeway construction, noise happened at night, too. Noisy day. Noisy night. Carbon emissions went up with cumulative building and traffic back-ups, and crowds of commuters got angrier with traffic that redefined slow.

The kid just wanted one scoop.

The kid's stomach needs were just so much. Not more. In other words, he was human.

But buildings were built all around him. And in the process he named trucks like kids in previous generations named frogs and guinea pigs. He lived in trucker heaven.

Or hell. Depending if his mom was angry from lack of sleep.

And then one day, the Baskin Robbin's building project ended with gleaming structures under the Southern California sun.

Glee!

The kid went out to find the ice cream store in the maze of 10 shiny new buildings with corresponding new roads. But with trucks and forklifts in-between this and that and getting in his way, it felt impossible.

For the "smart" freeway project wasn't done, nor the new "smart" mixed hotel and apartment complex (despite record vacancies), nor the "smart" mixed restaurant and office building.

There was so much congestion, confusion, conundrum.

And to boot, his mom's computer was on the blink, and she never knew which freeway ramps were open or, more times than not, closed.

The kid and his mom stopped trying to find that scoop of ice cream because they were pooped.

They stopped going out.

Congestion took their freedom. Congestion took their joy.

The kid stopped naming trucks and just wanted the trucks and forklifts out of his neighborhood.

His family no longer had a real life defined by living, interacting, and enjoying nature and one another's family and friends.

Therefore, the family moved to a new city because...

Building in Los Angeles was out of control.

The Moral of the Story: If you're going to build, think about people and nature first, and ask is this really needed? Otherwise you're building for cars and buildings. People that can leave will flee, for it's not kind to immerse city dwellers in continual dust and traffic.