January 1, 2007
Los Angeles: it isn't just the smog, Jake
Quick, what is "the largest single source of particulate pollution in the country"?
Yes, it's LA's fault -- but not its vehicles':
. . . in one of the largest river restoration efforts in the West, water is again flowing along a 62-mile stretch of the Owens River after a dry spell of nearly a century. . .From today's NY Times.The restored flow is among several long-awaited steps the city is taking to help make amends for the environmental consequences of its water maneuvering, most notably the drying up of Owens Lake, an area more than three times the size of Manhattan, here in the Owens Valley.
Los Angeles agreed in December to expand efforts to control toxic dust storms that erupt from what is left of the lake, a 110-square-mile body that emptied when the river was diverted to Los Angeles through an aqueduct opened in 1913.
The lake’s salty, mineral-laced basin has been the largest single source of particulate pollution in the country. It looks so otherworldly that it doubled as a desolate planet in the movie “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.”
Posted by David on January 1, 2007 4:05 PM
I live in the San Fernando Valley, the home of the single family swimming pool. The article mentioned the stringent water conservation measures and I can certainly attest to them, not only in homes but in public establishments as well--no dripping faucets in restaurant restrooms for example, self-measuring faucets in hospitals and clinics, etc.
When we're having one of our many dry winter storms with high winds off the deserts (we're experiencing one right now) you can taste the dust in the air, your eyes burn and water, your nose is raw. The project to reintroduce water flow in the Owens Valley is a welcome one. We have a high incidence of childhood asthma, far above the national average, and it's not by accident.
Posted by: Sarah
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on January 2, 2007 8:56 AM
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