Air Quality: How Can We Fix It?

Air.

We always took it for granted; we barely gave it a thought. We knew it would always be there.  

Until suddenly it wasn’t. Air. The air we breathe.

Suddenly there’s an air quality alert on the day’s weather forecast. Stay inside, it says. Don’t go outdoors.

It’s like being in jail. I feel an oppression far worse than during the pandemic. Then we could escape into nature, we could find a park, a preserve, a trail, a lake, and breathe free. Now we huddle indoors. No recess. No jogging. No T-ball, no field trips, no gardening, no sunbathing. There is no sun.

Beside this, everything else falls away. Suddenly, the culture wars don’t matter. Think woke pronouns are silly? Think abortion is murder or an inalienable right? It all pales into insignificance beside not being able to breathe.

But what can we do? you ask. I’ve changed my light bulbs. I compost. I recycle. I’ve even considered solar and I’m going to do it one of these days. How can we bring the blue sky back? Who can change the air?

There’s one thing we can do.

Vote.

Biden has introduced some of the most forceful legislation to fight climate change in our history. But it’s not perfect, you protest. Pipelines, compromises…he should do so much more. True. But if Republicans win the next few elections, just think what our air will be like then.

We have to get out the vote. That’s all that matters. We have to move heaven and earth to get everyone who will vote for the environment to the polls in each and every election, especially in November 2024. Think, right now, what you can do to make that happen.

Or else get used to holding your breath.