After years of what seemed to be clearer skies, the smog is back. There was only a single Stage 1 smog alert in 1997, and the last Stage 2 alert was more than 10 years ago, leading some to believe that the region had gained the upper hand in its attempts to vanquish the notorious brown haze. But as a result of the heat and humidity, there have been five Stage 1 smog alerts in a matter of days. So the Business Journal asks:
Has the smog made you consider carpooling or making other sacrifices to reduce air pollution?
Winston Chang
Project Manager/Senior Designer
The Landau Partnership Inc.
No, they haven’t. I’m not even aware of what the smog alerts are, generally. I’m just so happy with the quality of the air and the improvements that have been made over the last five or six years. I think carpooling is very difficult for most people, especially the way it’s set up in Los Angeles. I spend a lot of time up in the Bay Area, and carpooling is much easier up there.
Agnes Huff
Executive Vice President
Fraser/Huff Public Relations
I think just the fact that there is a smog alert makes people more aware of the fact that they need to do something. Air pollution came to the front of my mind when I read about the death of (astronaut Alan Shepard) because he had a quote about how we should all get along and try and save our environment. I try to use my car less. Our office is on Third Street Promenade, so I can walk to get something to eat rather than taking my car.
Judy Ivanson
Vice President and Director of Human Resources
Ideal Employee Management Inc.
The smog alerts make me think of using more mass transit with the Blue Line. I don’t consider carpooling so much because that is virtually impossible to force on employees. Instead, I think we should look into varying workers’ arrival times at the office or explore the possibility of more people working at home.
Dave Linden
Public Relations Manager
Petersen Automotive Museum
It’s unfortunate, but despite all the benefits of carpooling, smog reduction appears to be low on my list. Since it would not be feasible for me to carpool because of the nature of my work, I’ve chosen to live less than 10 minutes away from my place of employment, so I don’t have to drive as much and pollute the air.
Joseph Malinowski
Partner
Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler
I’m embarrassed to say no, they haven’t. I wish the problem would go away, but I guess I’m not going to be the one to take care of it. Carpooling would be great, but with my job, it’s impossible.
Mark Tweed
Director of Design
MCG Architects
I think the five alerts have a lot to do with the heat and the humidity. As for carpooling, it’s a great idea. I just wish that more people lived near their work, but of course, most people don’t. The problem is that it’s hard to find people who live near you who are going to the same destination. The farther you drive to work, the slimmer the odds of finding someone to carpool with. I can carpool because I live near my work. It’s politically correct for us to talk about carpooling, but I don’t know how practical it is for 99 percent of the people out there.
