Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site pttesac.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!well!ptsfa!pttesac!vanam From: vanam@pttesac.UUCP (Marnix van Ammers) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: re Califoo Message-ID: <209@pttesac.UUCP> Date: Tue, 8-Oct-85 18:35:33 EDT Article-I.D.: pttesac.209 Posted: Tue Oct 8 18:35:33 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 11-Oct-85 08:24:58 EDT References: <1369@hound.UUCP> <724@sfmag.UUCP> Reply-To: vanam@pttesac.UUCP (-Root Admin-) Organization: Pacific Bell ESAC, San Francisco Lines: 56 In article <724@sfmag.UUCP> mom@sfmag.UUCP (M.Modig) writes: >The whole smog thing in LA is really blown out of proportion, to my mind. >August thru October is when it's bad, but the rest of the year there's >usually no problem, particularly in the winter. It also depends on where >you are-- it's much worse in the inland valleys, much less downtown, and >generally non-existent on the beach. Everytime I hear this I get sick. The smog problem in L.A. is NOT blown out of proportion. People learn to accept the problem. But it IS a serious problem. I lived in L.A. from the age of 11 to 34. Several times in my young teens I was overwhelmed by the smog. We called it smogitis. All kids around me knew about it and suffered from the same symptoms. When you got it, which was usually after hard exercise on a hot smoggy day, you could only breathe in a very slight amount. Your breathing had to be very shallow and quick. Trying to breathe any deeper caused a pain in the chest and coughing. And couging was horrible because it took energy which made you need to breathe more. When I say I was overwhelmed by the smog I mean I fell to the ground unable to move other than my shallow breathing. When we told our teachers about breathing troubles they just said not to play so hard. The trouble is you don't know you've played too hard 'till it's too late. When I told my parents about falling to the ground on the way home unable to breathe, they thought it was some temporary problem I had. They at least recognized that it only happened on smoggy days. When I told my neighbor, a respected doctor, about what the smog could do to me (and to his own kids for that matter), he just plain told me that I was wrong. He said smog was not interferring with anyone's breathing and that the whole thing about smog was terribly exagerated. He practically called me a liar. Well that was in the fifties when everyone in L.A. still burned their own trash in their back yard incinerators. At least they've stopped that. They now also know that on smoggy days, exercise can be dangerous. And they have cleaned up the air somewhat. There is (thank God) less smog there now then in the fifties. But as recently as last year I was in L.A. and the smog was bad enough to make my eyes sting. I'm sure I could have gotten my old smogitis back if I had tried to jog a few miles. I moved to the San Francisco bay area about 5 years ago and the air is cleaner. Or, at least it doesn't contain what the L.A. air contains. I'm not saying S.F. is a good place and L.A. is a bad place. But L.A. *DOES* have a serious air polution problem. Just because the solution is not easy or maybe not possible, doesn't mean it isn't a serious problem. Any time the air can get so bad that kids have to be told to stay indoors (so that they won't exercise -- not that the air is any better), then you've got a serious problem. Well I'm glad I got to get that one off my chest. Marnix A. van Ammers