We all know this. It’s not news to us. Aside from sun and
the beaches, California is known for its smog, its ridiculously
obscene amounts of air pollution. Sure, it makes for brilliantly
colorful sunsets, but air pollution has become a growing concern,
and it will soon spell disaster if not immediately addressed. And
any Californian knows this better than anyone else.
A poll released on July 10 by the nonpartisan Public Policy
Institute of California and the Hewlett, Irvine and Packard
foundations found that most Californians (three out of four) agreed
that air pollution is a major problem, ranking it the top priority
over all other environmental issues. They also agreed that car
emissions are a major source of the problem.
There are two ingredients necessary for the making of
photochemical smog: sunlight and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides
and hydrocarbons that are emitted by automobiles. Obviously,
California has both of these elements in spades.
The result is the formation of harmful chemicals, including
tropospheric ozone, which is hazardous to the health of humans and
other living things. Tropospheric ozone is not to be confused with
stratospheric ozone, the abundance of which is essential to our
survival, since it protects us from the sun’s harmful
ultraviolet rays. In fact, the depletion of the latter is another
environmental concern. Basically, we’re doing away with the
good ozone (but that’s another story), and adding, in great
quantities, to the bad ozone. Especially in California.
As noted in the American Lung Association’s 2003 air
quality grading, California leads the country in air pollution. In
their annual assessment, the American Lung Association grades
counties on an A through F scale, based on how often their air
quality crosses unhealthful standards. Twenty-eight of the
state’s 58 counties flunked the test. And guess which county
tops the list as the most ozone-polluted metropolitan area. Yup,
you guessed it, Los Angeles. Good old Los Angeles leads the pack
with the smoggiest air in the nation. Say hello to lung disease,
people.
Californians are aware of the problem, as the recent poll finds,
and they express deep concern about the health effects of air
pollution. But the irony of it lies in the heavy denial of personal
responsibility. The poll also found that most Californians
expressed little concern about how much their own driving
contributes to the poor air quality, and most reported being
satisfied with the fuel economy of their primary vehicle (including
64 percent of van, pickup or SUV owners!) When one can say they are
happy with the fuel economy of vehicles that often struggle to run
12 miles to the gallon, you start to question their logic.
Their logic is likely clouded by love. Californians sure do love
their cars. This is an undeniable phenomenon. You can see it in
their behavior, their speech, their love-struck eyes. They ooze
with affection for their vehicles and they really cannot imagine
their lives without them. This is far from an exaggeration.
Societal emphasis on the virtues of car ownership has fostered the
growth of a very strong lifestyle preference in most
Californians.
Regardless of expressed concern, this preference too often takes
precedence over the cleanness of our air. Talk is cheap. And
California’s a thrift store when it comes to talk concerning
their precious vehicles.
Seventy-three percent polled still drive to work alone, 62
percent wish to continue driving a vehicle as large as their
current vehicle, and 55 percent did not believe that their own cars
were significant contributors to air pollution. The numbers speak
volumes. Ironically, as compared to the rest of the country,
Californians actually express more eco-friendly views. Sixty-five
percent of Californians said they place priority on environmental
protection over economic growth, while nationally only 47 percent
of Americans favor environmental protection.
We can talk the talk, but can we walk the walk, walking being
another eco-friendly alternative? Considering the fact that
California counties have rounded up the top four most heavily
ozone-polluted metropolitan areas in the nation for the past four
years, any great improvement seems unlikely. There is a very big
difference between expressed attitudes and actual behavior.
How can we expect Californians to take an active role in the
solution when the majority of them can’t even admit to being
part of the problem? Maybe we just don’t care enough about
our environment, or even our own personal health. Or maybe we just
want to preserve that beautiful chemical sunset.
Sun is a third-year communications studies student.