The most pressing issue in Los Angeles County right now is air quality, but AQI, the only tool at our disposal is regulated by the EPA that left every one out to dry after 9/11...
Jesus. And think of the firefighters - whose lives are actively at risk in the present and whose future health is also at huge risk, which we know from 9/11 first responder survivors. What a nightmare.
Shocking to see so many people around me, friends, family etc - no one wearing a mask. I’ve heard “we had to do this during the pandemic” and it saddens me that it’s even a comparison like you did your work with masks already. For anyone in LA - EVERY public library has free N95’s for anyone. Just walk in and grab one. I do it every day. There are tons and tons just sitting there. If you have to be in LA - please wear a mask. This is no joke.
Here in Santa Rosa, we all mostly masked during the 2017 firestorm, but only when the air was obviously noxious or when the AQI report was dangerous. (A few years later, it felt so surreal to mask full time due to COVID but most of us still had a basket of em handy).
But in ensuing years, each nearby fire incident has left us more complacent - like, sure, the sky is gray and disgusting but this fire’s probably 30 miles away instead of 10 and the kids have been cooped up and it’s July and we don’t have AC so I guess maybe it’s worth the risk to go to the pool?
Very privileged calculus to be making, but I guess I also kinda assumed that AQI was a good resource. Everyone in LA seems to be proving that that is not the case, since I see so many posts of people being like, “why does this say it’s safe when it’s clearly not?!”
Nobody has time for a 2.5 hour webinar. That’s fine for the scientists and people looking for more details, but you managed to get the main points out succinctly and clearly. This is the messaging people need, but no one has the motivation to say.
Did you see trump telling mayor bass to let everyone go back to their homes immediately and let them start rebuilding? No care for their long term health.
I can’t think of a single example leadership has put health above the economy.
I would put my money on WatchDuty 501c3 to add in some best guess urban measurements (it’s the only app I use for fire season in Oregon, granted their PPM measurements are adequate for our forest fires). Blows me away that they operate with 200 volunteers, the level of detail and clarity it provides is next level.
In the meantime, trust your gut or lungs and mask up, don’t get complacent…
Maybe the future isn’t Private or Public, but by the people Non-Profit.
Jesus. And think of the firefighters - whose lives are actively at risk in the present and whose future health is also at huge risk, which we know from 9/11 first responder survivors. What a nightmare.
Shocking to see so many people around me, friends, family etc - no one wearing a mask. I’ve heard “we had to do this during the pandemic” and it saddens me that it’s even a comparison like you did your work with masks already. For anyone in LA - EVERY public library has free N95’s for anyone. Just walk in and grab one. I do it every day. There are tons and tons just sitting there. If you have to be in LA - please wear a mask. This is no joke.
Here in Santa Rosa, we all mostly masked during the 2017 firestorm, but only when the air was obviously noxious or when the AQI report was dangerous. (A few years later, it felt so surreal to mask full time due to COVID but most of us still had a basket of em handy).
But in ensuing years, each nearby fire incident has left us more complacent - like, sure, the sky is gray and disgusting but this fire’s probably 30 miles away instead of 10 and the kids have been cooped up and it’s July and we don’t have AC so I guess maybe it’s worth the risk to go to the pool?
Very privileged calculus to be making, but I guess I also kinda assumed that AQI was a good resource. Everyone in LA seems to be proving that that is not the case, since I see so many posts of people being like, “why does this say it’s safe when it’s clearly not?!”
Nobody has time for a 2.5 hour webinar. That’s fine for the scientists and people looking for more details, but you managed to get the main points out succinctly and clearly. This is the messaging people need, but no one has the motivation to say.
I shouldn't be surprised. It was unsettling looking at the air quality app saying everything is fine when I could smell that it wasn't.
Did you see trump telling mayor bass to let everyone go back to their homes immediately and let them start rebuilding? No care for their long term health.
I can’t think of a single example leadership has put health above the economy.
I would put my money on WatchDuty 501c3 to add in some best guess urban measurements (it’s the only app I use for fire season in Oregon, granted their PPM measurements are adequate for our forest fires). Blows me away that they operate with 200 volunteers, the level of detail and clarity it provides is next level.
In the meantime, trust your gut or lungs and mask up, don’t get complacent…
Maybe the future isn’t Private or Public, but by the people Non-Profit.
Right on. The NPR version has that political slant. Keep calm and carry on. The stock market depends on it.