I stepped onto our front porch this morning with Soluna in my arms and it smelled like campfire. Somewhere in Northern California there are great big campfires and the bay is definitely seeing, smelling and feeling it in the air. There were several articles in the paper suggesting that the air quality is "unhealthy for sensitive groups." ... I am including little babies in sensitive groups.
But as I officially start my job this week to help fight dirty diesel in the bay area, I know that the air here has never been safe. (We live where West Oakland, meets North Oakland, meets Emeryville.) According to an article published by Urban Habitat Program:
* Average diesel emissions per square mile in West Oakland are more than 90 times greater than average emissions for the rest of California.
* There is seven times more diesel exhaust per person in West Oakland than in Alameda County as a whole.
* Exposure to diesel causes cancer, and may increase the risk of asthma, heart disease and premature death. Asthma is epidemic in West Oakland: children here are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than the average child in the state of California.
* Recent studies have shown that diesel exhaust does not only make asthma worse, but it may actually cause asthma
This is our home and this is the only place that Benji and I could afford to buy a home with less than a 2 hour daily commute to and from work. I am determined to be good at my job so that we can all breathe easy, including Soluna.
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