I was young. Idealistic. Growing up in New York City, I saw what pollution could do firsthand, between November 23 and November 26, 1966, when New York City was blanketed in smog so brown and thick that you could not see across the street.
Some 185 people died, and it is estimated that 10% of New York City residents suffered some adverse health event from the smog. My father and I were fortunate.
In my childhood, the snow would develop a black crust soon after it fell. I never knew "clean" snow until I moved from the city.
Thanks in part to the 1966 Thanksgiving smog, the United States Congress passed the clean air act in 1967, with other legislation following.
Now, here we are in 2018, celebrating the 48th Earth Day, and climate change is upon us. More frequent flooding, and increasingly harsh weather events plague us all over the world.
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| April 19, near Johnson City, New York |
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| April 19, Binghamton, New York |
Will we have the will to drop politics from the discussion, face what is happening, and take the actions we need to take?
Tomorrow - "T" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
I've long believed climate change is happening. We have so much evidence of it in Canada with one of the most dramatic instances being the melting of the polar ice cap. I cannot fathom why some people stick their heads in the sand.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I were in Barcelona in 1969. We could see the air. A few days later we were both sick with upper respiratory infections. Seeing the air is something I will never forget.
ReplyDeleteSigh. The EPA is rolling back regulations as we speak.
ReplyDeleteNah. Those in power have insulated themselves from reality so completely that they could be in the midst of another smog weekend and they'd find some way to explain that it wasn't smog.
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