Rarely have so many Californians been exposed to such gloomy, unhealthy air. With so many fires burning, millions of people in the Bay Area, Central Valley and parts of Southern California are breathing dangerous levels of particle pollution.
The awful air quality marks the latest setback in the fight against Southern California smog, which has faltered in recent years despite a long-term decrease in emissions. Officials with the South Coast air district, which regulates air pollution across a region of 17 million people spanning Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, have blamed hotter weather and stronger, more persistent pollution-trapping inversion layers.
They are also studying to what extent climate change is driving recent increases in ozone. The unhealthy smog readings occurred during a period in which Gov. Gavin Newsom temporarily suspended air-quality rules on power plants, cargo ships in port and other major pollution sources to ease strain on the power grid during the two recent heat waves.
Tony Barboza is an editorial writer focusing on climate change and environmental justice. Barboza was born and raised in Colorado and is a graduate of Pomona College. The L. Times holiday gift guide. Newsom returns to public eye after sudden absence sparked social media speculation. Colonialism, power and race.
Inside California ethnic studies classes. The 27 coolest made-in-L. All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. Business Visionaries. This is the view from the Los Angeles City Hall in , after eight days of heavy smog. Peering at the city, the Washington Post wrote, was "like peering into the smoke-filled backrooms of the era's bars.
Lee Begovich, who moved to the city in , told the Washington Post she was stunned when wind blew the smog away one day and she finally, for the first time, saw the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast.
In , Getty wrote that there were so many red eyes, one person said "you couldn't tell the people with hangovers from those who went to bed the night before. People wore masks to counter what the Washington Post described as "eye-burning, lung-stinging, headache-inducing smog. At least one woman wore a plastic helmet while relaxing at Santa Monica beach. At the time there were also bush fires, so while the helmet protected her from ash, it didn't stop smog from seeping in.
In , the city even set up a smog relief team to provide residents with "fresh air" brought from outside of Los Angeles. Whether is was effective is unclear. Smog continued to cover the city as Los Angeles expanded, which meant more factories and highways. The city did have Air Pollution Control, an early pollution monitoring group.
Continuing into the s, parts of Los Angeles were getting smoggy days each year. Here's Grand Avenue in Here, the outline of the sun can be made out thanks to Los Angeles smog, early in the s. When the Clean Air Act was passed in , Congress approved an amendment that allowed California to incorporate harsher pollution controls than the rest of the country. It had to deal with the problem.
But that didn't mean the pollution just went away. This is hazy Los Angeles in Here, that same year, smog was trapped against the mountains. And smog still covered the San Gabriel Mountains at times in In , Los Angeles skyscrapers were blanketed in smog. And a new generation of hybrid and electric cars is driving automotive efficiency to even newer heights. Updated federal air quality standards implemented in have also helped reduce ozone alert days in California and elsewhere.
But despite this progress, environmental and public health advocates are urging federal lawmakers to raise air quality standards even higher. The goal is to get ground level ozone, a chief contributor to smog, no more prevalent than the range of parts per billion averaged over eight hours, as unanimously recommended by an independent board of air experts and scientists created under the Clean Air Act to provide periodic review and recommendations on air quality standards.
The Obama administration reportedly considered updating the standard last summer but decided to table the decision until given economic priorities. Send questions to: earthtalk emagazine. Subscribe : www. Explore further. This document is subject to copyright.
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