How bad is the los angeles air? (San Diego, Torrance: appointed, hotel)

[LAPalms]

Lucky is delusional. Probably not from here and has an obvious hate of the area, because who would ever live in a place that they didn't like?
I live downtown and you can't "see the air". Why is he or she motivated to say this? No Idea.
And Escape, what a joke! You said they are visable! That's my whole point! In 1972 the mountains could not be seen AT ALL 300 days of the year. Now EVERYTIME I GO THERE, I can see those mountains OVER 65 MILES AWAY!!!!
And Whatever, does it make you feel better to tell the world that LA has the worst air in the country, to inform us. You feel better and superior about yourself?
We all know that. This is not headline news.
I think it's important to note that the air is being cleaned up and is VERY tolerable, and that my friends from England and other places are always saying to me, "What is the big idea about the smog, I don't know what there talking about. I'Ts not that bad at all". They truly expect the worst, and everytime, they are baffled when they visit!!
So go ahead and SPOUT OFF about the SMOG, you'll feel better. Us native Angelenos know better and are proud of the dramatic reduction and anti pollutions efforts/technology which not only benefits California, but the entire USA.

[Cubancoffee]

Originally Posted by LuckyGem

On any given day, you can see the air. How's that for an answer.

Can you see the air where you are?

All due respect, but that's not true. From our balcony in Silver Lake we can see across the entire LA Basin, and most days, if there's any obstruction at all, it's haze caused by clouds/fog, NOT pollution. Inland Empire is worse, but I'm talking about LA.

[whitechocolate86]

So, I guess it doesn't really effect anyone's health...that's what I was getting at...even NYC has some mad pollution and they have a much more reputable public transport system...I bet those mountains are nice to view

[Nick682]

• Yeah fog! Brown fog! Worst in the nation period!

• People will say that their area is better or worse but thats really mitagable, unless you live on the ocean and I mean on the ocean. Even then you will get smog.
  

• Reason: All the areas to the east of LA have the worst air in the nation. The winds don't always come from the west they are variable depending upon the high pressure and low pressure systems. When the winds blow from the east (common condition called Santa Ana) all the air from the most polluted areas blows over all of LA. Not to mention all the bad air that is already in LA. When this happens no one is spared even people at the beach.
  

• I have seen many days where all the smog is being blown out to the ocean. But it is coming from the east which means it travels through you on it's way.
  

• Then when you have a marine layer (also very common) you have stagnant air sitting over the city and the coast. Keyword: "stagnant" the air doesn't move and the moisture actually traps the smog particles in H20 so it hangs around in the fog. Not helping this fact is that LA is a Basin keyword "Basin" lower than surrounding areas mtns all around it. There is no where for the air to go unless there is strong winds.
  

• The only time and the best time in LA is in the winter. Why because there is much more wind and storms to blow the smog out. Basically to have a good day you need strong winds coming from the ocean (rainstorms). Otherwise everyone suffers, I would estimate that strong winds from the west occur less than 1/4 of the time unless you are right on the ocean (multi million dollar property). Everyone else is sucking it down.
  

• I flew as part of a helicopter aircrew throughout all of LA for two years. Most of my flights were at 500-1000ft. If anyone had a overall good picture of the air it is me. You can see the smog over the city like a layer of fog in a valley, (but it's not fog, don't let them fool you) if it's not white then it's not fog, even when there's a marine layer.
  

• Besides cancer these particles make it to your brain where there are unknown mental affects. I believe that is one reason why so many Americans are on anti depressant meds, because the particles affect your mood. I have monitored myself and noticed irritability on the worst days. It would be nothing but a fallacy to deny that there are any long term mental effects from the bombardment of toxic chemicals in your brain.
  

I am leaving, but that is the true story, you can't say you weren't educated before you came.

[LASam]

Nick, did you sign up for City-Data just to trash Los Angeles? Looking at all your posts, that seems to be the case. Sorry it didn't work out for you here, but some of us like it here. To say the air in LA is great would be lying. However, the air quality has improved considerably over where it was and doesn't seem to interfere with the lives of the vast majority of people living here. NYC has bad air quality too... as do a lot of major cities. It's a trade-off you make.

[Nick682]

Originally Posted by LASam

Nick, did you sign up for City-Data just to trash Los Angeles? Looking at all your posts, that seems to be the case. Sorry it didn't work out for you here, but some of us like it here. To say the air in LA is great would be lying. However, the air quality has improved considerably over where it was and doesn't seem to interfere with the lives of the vast majority of people living here. NYC has bad air quality too... as do a lot of major cities. It's a trade-off you make.

Would you prefer if everything on the board was positive? The question stated: How bad is the los angeles air?

What I stated in my paragraph, are the facts based upon research and data on the city and my experience. Maybe you would have prefered that I lie about the city and just say the air was great?

Would you rather mislead the person asking the question and cause them to make a move that they could regret. Just because you choose to subject yourself to the worst air the nation has to offer. Doesn't mean others want to take the same chances with their health. I answered the question honestly, the facts and data are on my side.

I see my post as possibly saving someone from experiencing the same problems I had to experience when I was stuck there. Why shouldn't people be fully aware of the dangers of bad air.

Don't worry I'm "getting board" with it anyway. One can only perform a public service such as what I have done on this site--for only so long. Once I am gone you can give all the flowery advice you want. You can put a positive spin on everything.

Then the whole site can be filled with positive smoke, and mirrors about beautiful LA. Kind of like how the media portrays it on a daily basis. Can't blame them though, an actor trashing LA would be kinda like biting the hand that feeds them!

[suncat]

I'm a native, and I can say the air quality is MUCH better now than it was in the 70s.

[Nick682]

Originally Posted by suncat

I'm a native, and I can say the air quality is MUCH better now than it was in the 70s.

I see many people saying that it's better than it was in the 70's. That is true but misleading because there are different, more complex and more toxic chemicals in todays air pollution.

Also, there where zero emissions standards for cars in the 70's, free flowing exhaust systems etc. No one understood the dangers and they didn't regulate industry like they do now. The technology exists to cut air pollution by 80% right now. But the powers that be have influence on technology that gets mass produced.

Hydrogen is simple combustion, H20 as a byproduct, many people are using HHO systems on their cars already to cut gas consumption. Hydrogen combustion engines are real and they work. Think about whats at stake for the billion dollar petroleum industry. You can make Hydrogen gas at home, I can do it simply by introducing a current into an electrolyte solution through metal plates. All you need is a nine volt battery, doesn't take much power to produce it.

Imagine if a car company produced a Hydrogen vehicle and people started making H2 gas at home for free, it's just water, water is everywhere. Oil companies might not be too happy hah. That means no gas stations at all? Lots of people are concerned about what kind of impact that would have on our petroleum based economy. Check it out:

Thermo1.com - Alternative Energy Solutions

YouTube - How to Make Hydrogen : How to Make Hydrogen

[LASam]

AIRNow - Air Quality Maps

Nick,

You only provide the negative aspect of the argument, how is this being fair to the person asking the question? The link I attached is from the government air quality monitoring site. Check this on a daily basis to see the TRUE air quality. Today it is moderate... which basically means that "Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion." There are facts on both sides of the argument, you are just jaded with LA and choose to focus on the facts that back your side of the argument. That's fine, I'm cool with that. You are allowed to feel however you like. I'm just trying to provide a different perspective.

[LAPalms]

Los Angelkes leads the world in Anti pollution technology and that is why smog is almost a non-issue here. The smog level has been lowered by 50% in the last 25 years. In the 50's - the 70's you had many 3rd stage smog alerts (on a scale from 1-3, 3 the worst). There hasn't been any stage 3's in 15 years!
When I was a kid growuing up in Huntington Beach, you could see the San Gabriel mountains maybe 50 times a year.
NOW HARDLY a day goes by that you can't see the mountains!!!! At least 320 days a year. In fact Houston took the honors as most smoggiest in 2 separate years recently. And believe it or not Denver, also in a basin situation has horrific smog, worse than Los Angeles.
Many people mistake the normal ocean overcast moisture haze (fog) for smog here. It is blue and doesn't smell. Smog is yellow and brown.
That's really frustrating. That's ocean influence, HELLO!!