Our View: You can help clean up Bakersfield’s dirty air
It’s been a long day in Southern California. You point your car north, as you head home to Bakersfield. Cresting the Tejon Pass on Interstate 5, you look down onto the valley. Shrouded in a brown cloud of polluted air is Bakersfield.
You sigh. You wonder what breathing that air is doing to you. But you keep moving toward home. Sadly, you have become accustomed to the smell, taste and sight of brown air.
In the American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report, Kern County and Bakersfield ranked worst in the nation for average annual particulate pollution. We have held that dubious title for the past three years. The annual report, which the association began publishing in 1996, is based on data from local, state and federal government air-monitoring stations, as well as statistics gathered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The report also measures such things as ozone. Kern and Bakersfield do not rate at the top for some of those pollutants, but they are still listed among the top impacted regions. Particulates — very small particles — are of significant concern because they can penetrate into people’s lungs, circulate in the bloodstream and affect other organs. They are blamed for causing or aggravating a wide range of serious health problems, including asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, diabetes and premature births.
There are many reasons Kern and Bakersfield, located in the most southern part of the San Joaquin Valley, have polluted air. Air currents push pollutants south from the Bay Area and other northern communities. When the pollution finally arrives here, there is no place for it to go. It is blocked by a ring of mountain walls. There are no coastal winds, as there are in Southern California and along the coast, to push pollutants away.
Climate change also plays its part. As temperatures climb and “cook” the region, the stew of polluted air gets thicker and thicker. Climate change also is blamed for the many wildfires we are seeing that send even more polluted air into the valley.
Kern’s mainstay industries — oil and agriculture — play roles in polluting the air. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District notes that transportation continues to be the biggest contributor of pollutants in the Central Valley.
“We’ve got two of the busiest transportation highways on the West Coast with I-5 and (Highway) 99,” Jaime Holt, the air district’s communications director, told The Californian.
As they are being forced out of Southern California because of their environmental impacts, vehicle-intensive logistic centers are swarming into Kern and bringing even more truck traffic to the county.
Our area’s dreadful air quality endangers more than our health. It also is taking its toll on economic development and the critical need to diversify the region’s economy. Many companies simply do not want to relocate to Kern and Bakersfield because their employees fear the health risks. We saw this happen some years ago, when State Farm moved a regional headquarters to Bakersfield and some employees refused to relocate.
We might be tempted to throw up our hands and say there is nothing we can do about Kern’s and Bakersfield’s lousy air. Think again.
The valley air district issues frequent warnings that include rules and cleanup recommendations that apply to individuals, as well as companies. It tells us when we can burn wood in our fireplaces. It recommends and supports the purchase of energy-efficient and pollution-curbing appliances and vehicles. Sadly, it also alerts us to when it is not “safe” to go outside and breathe. Heed the rules and advice.
Vote for representatives at the city, county, state and national levels who place a priority on having clean air and addressing the dangers of climate change. Pretending the health and economic development costs do not exist is not a responsible response to the dangers we face.
Insist that the environmental consequences of all development proposals and all industries are considered and thoroughly addressed before a company is allowed to operate.
Cleaning up Kern County’s and Bakersfield’s air must be a high priority for its citizens and those we elect to protect and serve us.
