To the publisher: I grew up in Pasadena in the 1950s. At that time, SMOG was so bad that we could not often see the mountains of San Gabriel. When we swim at the public swimming pool in summer, our lungs hurt me to have inspired polluted air. When I was at the University in Claremont in the 1960s, our football team was not allowed to train on days when SMOG was heavy.
Quick advance for today, when, due to the strict anti-pollution measures of California, the mountains can now be seen from Pasadena, and the sky is mainly blue rather than gray. It is a victory for Angelenos and the Californians. Consequently, I am dismayed by the vote of the Chamber to prevent California from the transition to electric vehicles by 2035 (“The fate of the automotive standards of California comes down to the Battle of the Senate”, “ May 1).
Our state has had the opportunity to promulgate clean air standards which are more difficult than federal limits, because we have historically looked the most polluted in the country. And in fact, as the article pointed out, “today, more than a dozen states follow the standards of California, notably New York, Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington and Oregon.” It shouldn't change. Thanks to Governor Gavin Newsom, who said: “Our vehicle program helps clean air for all Californians, and we will continue to defend it.” Amen!
Jill Anderson, Pisto Beach
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To the publisher: I am well known in Los Angeles as a defender of public transport and during my 11 years as manager of the director appointed to Metro. Being someone who “walks on the walk and talks about the conversation”, I used public transport to move for more than two decades. But in recent years, my doctors have diagnosed me with a decrease in pulmonary capacity, and I now find it necessary to use an inhaler based on steroids daily as well as to wear the same type of inhaler used by asthmatic for emergencies. The reason, said my primary care doctor, is that I inspired exhaust smoke all these years while waiting for bus stops.
What wants to eliminate – or at least weaken – the regulations that reduce these exhaust fumes do not seem to achieve is that they breathe themselves each time they come out. My state came while the derogation of the California's own air law was in force; I am terrified to think how much more will suffer from the same condition as me if this renunciation should be reduced.
Kymberleigh Richards, Van Nuy
