To the editor: The editorial about the South Coast Air Quality Management District's sloppy management of port pollution was a strong argument for better leadership. But accusing the board of personally escaping the air quality problem by holding meetings in the desert undermines the editorial's message by ignoring the full scope of the problem.
The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa, where the board members had their retreat, is in the middle of the Coachella Valley, where air quality alerts are almost as common as the leaf vomit that helps create them. Much of last week the area was battered by a wind composed of dangerous effluent, dust and sand so thick I couldn't see the mountains across the valley from my backyard. The board members did not enjoy the “clear views of the San Jacinto Mountains” more than I did.
Yes, damage from ports to surrounding areas must be addressed promptly, as is the case with air quality in all SCAQMD regions. We all suffer from weak regulators.
Ellen Alperstein, Palm Desert
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To the editor: In 2000, The Times reported that California would begin warning residents in certain areas about cancer-causing diesel exhaust. Surrounded by the diesel ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, local San Pedro community groups immediately called on the facility to clean up diesel pollution.
Twenty-four years and many Times articles later, diesel pollution continues. Citizens find it difficult to understand why agencies that exist to serve the public allow the public to continue being poisoned.
Will we be having this conversation in 24 years? It seems quite likely.
Noel Park, Rancho Palos Verdes
