Pennsylvania might well understand the impact of smog. You may ask if smog is even an issue any longer. I lived in Los Angeles during summer in my college days and I recall the amazement of one day seeing the Santa Monica Mountains in the near distance. Up until a windy day, the air pollution kept the sun and the mountains as a faint memory. There was a proposed plan to put giant fans in the further away San Gabriel peaks to pull the bad air out of the basin and send it out to the desert beyond. Donora and Webster Pennsylvania in l948 “were visited by smog that changed the face of environmental protection in the United States. Conservative estimates showed that 20 people died, while an additional 5900–43% of the population of Donora-were affected by the smog.” The longer term effects appeared in over the next decade in cardiovascular and cancer incidents. A temperature inversion trapped the emissions from Zinc Works and and American Steel and Wire plant. Couple those toxic fumes with the emissions from coal burning stoves and automobiles and you have a situation where you could not see to walk down the sidewalk.
A similar set of circumstances had occurred in the Meuse River Valley in Belgium in 1930 in which 60 people died. The history continues with similar events in London in 1952 that resulted in thousands of deaths and hospitalizations. Clean air acts in 1956 and 1968 were enacted in England. Finally in 1970 the United States passed a comprehensive Clean Air Act. Air quality is still marginal in parts of the world but in the United States the status of our outdoor environment is measured and reported.
Emissions are a proven cause of global warming. Greenhouse gases are a threat to our planet—obvious you say from watching catastrophic climate events unfold on an accelerating trend line.
The Orange Wanker has placed his faith in a group of Scientists who question the consensus on climate change. Rather, it is apparent his minions sought out some radical folks who would go along with his “drill baby drill” and return to the use of coal non-sense. Obama championed the 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas vehicle standards. The automobile industry has worked to comply with the emission standards and electric and hydrogen vehicles provide a means to significantly reduce greenhouse effects. Figures don’t lie, but liars do figure and by the current pronouncement of the EPA experts automobiles are not a significant contributor. The facts are “if U. S. Motor vehicle sector were a country, it would be the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world according to the real EPA’s own data.” (New York Times)
This roll back in regulation is heralded as a way to accelerate the growth of the U S Economy. Damn the environment—full speed ahead. Short term it could have the desired impact. If you don’t care about the planet for your children or their children, I suppose you can justify the self serving arrogance. Forget the real human toll, just think about the investment. Global warming is real and it is impacting our climate in very costly ways. In 2024, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding events cost near $368 billion dollars worldwide. It is estimated if we allow global warming to continue its upward climb costs will move to an estimated $1.7 to $3.1 trillion per year by 2050. Or think of it as costing the world $16 million per hour. People will die needlessly and that is not in the calculations. I like this quote, “Stop asking candidates if they ‘believe in’ climate change and start asking them if they understand it.——it’s science not Santa Claus.”
I would hope that Senator’s Risch and Crapo along with Congressman Simpson would heed the words of Albert Einstein, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” They are complicit in all of the un-American plans and actions of the Orange Cockwomble and his backers.
Welcome our Basque friends and family who are joining us in Boise for Jaialdi. In spite of the rhetoric from so many, everybody should be welcome here. Mike
Donora
