Yes, alantf, the air really is bad in Los Angeles...

[alanmcorcoran]

I wanted to at least pay a little respect to Patrick's etiquette, so I moved the air pollution discussion over here.

Fewer places on earth have as many restrictions on air quality related activities than the Los Angeles basin. Everyone knows we have extra stuff on our cars. You may not know that:

1) we have specially formulated gas.
2) We cannot burn anything outdoors.
3) We have little hoodies on the gas pumps to capture the evaporation.
4) ALL cars have to have their emissions checked every two years or you can't register, insure or drive them.
5) There are rules for fireplaces, lawn mowers, cow shit, asphalt paving, dry cleaning, and much much more.

It's pretty overbearing, but, for the most part, if the AQMD wants it, and they prove that it will reduce air pollution, they get it. And, guess what? Except for the polluters targeted, most people are quite happy with the AQMD. Why?

Because the air IS polluted! But it's a lot less polluted now than it used to be (in the seventies), even though there are a lot more people here now than there were then.

You mention that they monitor the air quality in Tenerife and it's "fine." Well, they monitor it here too. Somedays it is breathable, but many days it is definitely NOT FINE and it is recommended one stay indoors (and try not to breath too much.)

It's nice to have them monitoring it, but, the monitoring is only necessary if you want some scientific precision. When the air is bad, you can plainly SEE it. And FEEL it. The mountains disappear first. Then they are replaced by a reddish brown haze that is plainly visible with the naked eye. And, if you are looking at it with your naked eye, your naked eyes are likely burning. And so are your lungs if you are working outdoors.

I am not familiar with the geography of tenerife, but you said it's an island. More than likely, all the shitty air you are generating is blowing away from the island to somewhere else, where it becomes their problem. In the LA basin, we are surrounded by relatively high mountains on three sides and, in the summer in particular, there is no place for the crap to blow to, so it just sits right above our heads.

So please, do not dismiss the efforts of the "homo vegetarians" (actually, I'm guessing that the AQMD is mostly red meat eating, straight [possibly virgin] nerds, but that's another discussion) to keep Southern California air breathable. Air pollution is real, it sucks and there are effective things one can do to fix it, or at least reduce it.

When the rest of the world is choking on its own farts you will thank us (or the homos) for spending the time and money to develop and support cleaner ways of doing things.