Los Angeles Warmophobia
Published by punkass marc July 13th, 2007 in Environment, Looks like someone needs an interventionFive times in my life, Los Angeles and/or its surrounding areas have beckoned. Regardless of whether I was traveling to see friends or catch a UT Rose Bowl victory, I left with the impression that I could — sometimes that I should — live in LA.
Until this last trip.
Don’t get me wrong, LA still offers plenty to love. I’m one of those weird solar-powered people, and its 300+ days of sunshine are deeply appealing. The town is saturated with the latest movies, music, and art. Its suburbs hardly feel suburban thanks to the cool dives and shops on every corner. And, weirdly enough, I’ve never had nicer service across the board in any city.
I’ve learned to accept LA’s expensive nature, too. Even though you have to win the lottery to afford a one-bedroom condo, its rental rates in some places are on the tolerable side of extortion. No meal costs less than $15/person, either, but the quality of the fare usually makes it worth the sacrifice (including the subsequent extra nights of mac and cheese to save up).
On the dark side, flaunting your wealth is a competitive sport in LA. And scary plastic surgery couples infest many of the places I’d otherwise like to hang out. And every friend is 30 minutes away from every other friend, no matter where you move. The city has plenty of warts, but none of them are dealbreakers for me.
The cartoonishly congested roadways have always been close to one, though. There’s nothing like a midnight stand-still on the 101 to make you crazy, and I can only assume that repeated exposure to such absurdity is why 70% of LA’s drivers act like escaped mental patients behind the wheel. Watching a Jag convertible hop the curb to shoot down a sidewalk at 30 miles an hour is one thing. Watching several other drivers think that was a good idea and follow suit is much more alarming.
Obviously, Los Angeles was always hazy when I was there, too, no matter the time of year. And maybe it was always this bad, but it never freaked me out as much on previous trips as it did on this one — especially when you combine it with the aforementioned traffic problems.
Is this a good or a bad day?
Everywhere you go in LA, you’re surrounded by single passenger vehicles and the cloud of smog they helped create. You literally cannot escape it. Having ridden the fine LA buses and subway system, I can confirm that the city does in fact possess mass transportation options. Unfortunately, its sprawling layout and the all-directions nature of its traffic make it nearly impossible for those options to serve LA’s millions of commuters effectively.
Late 90’s electric car fuck-ups aside, California’s trying to solve the problem. Along with implementing its stricter emissions standards, the state sued automakers for global warming negligence. Those things are nice, but how they’ll make a dent in the air’s smoggy armor remains a bit of a mystery to me.
Being surrounded by the bad air and fleet of nearly empty cars was suffocating this time around. They served as constant reminders of our destructive me-first culture, and any time I participated in traffic, I felt trapped. I’m terrified of what global warming will do to our planet and its inhabitants, and if I was forced to live in LA, I would never be able to hide from those fears. Ever.
Of course, LA’s air will look the same whether I’m there or not. The US and most of its citizens will continue their consumptive gluttony regardless of how many reminders confront me. Really, what was I so afraid of in LA, other than being reminded of many times I contributed to the problem instead of helping to solve it? If I’m being honest, then, wasn’t the scariest aspect of being in Los Angeles actually my inability to hide from my own wasteful ways as easily as I can now?
I think it was. And that has nothing to do with LA at all.
Not that our smog is light enough or anything, but the thick haze around L.A. would give me asthma again, I’m sure of it. Scary. I’ve heard good things about the music scene, though.
I was just thinking along the same lines about my trash output. I try to keep it to a min, but my roommates don’t care so much and I’m admittedly not doing the best I could, so it remains higher than I am comfortable with.
The haze around Los Angeles is undoubtedly pretty appalling. But the odd thing is that during my lifetime, I definitely remember the air quality getting better. I think it’s a testament to what regulations and large-scale action can do (I wish I had the details on specific laws and statistics and stuff, but sadly I don’t). But is it enough, soon enough? I dunno. I hope so.
Also, if you’re paying at least $15 per person per meal, then clearly you need to be eating way more tacos.
Mmmmm, tacos.
Maybe my LA peeps have expensive tastes, but even the Denny’s next to my hotel charged $8 for a waffle.
Wow…I had not been to LA since 84 and thought the smog was gross then.
That is some scary stuff.
I think I’ll have to invest in that MDI car company that is just bringing to market a car that runs on compressed air. Of course they are only available in Europe right now.
I think I’ll have to invest in that MDI car company that is just bringing to market a car that runs on compressed air. Of course they are only available in Europe right now.
Ohhh, I want one of those, especially if it makes it to the states looking all sleek and European-car style.
I’ve lived in L.A. since 1995. The smog was much better in the 90’s, but relaxed environmental standards and the “My SUV is bigger than yours” war have wrecked all that improvement.
You captured it perfectly: in some ways, it’s a very interesting place. There are things you see here you aren’t likely to see elsewhere. And some of them, you don’t want to see anywhere. And yes, after a while the traffic just rots your brain - I’m by nature a patient driver, but I have become more aggressive, because in the years when I drove cautiously, I was rear-ended 5 times. It’s like scaring the shit out of people is a form of defensive driving out here.
That said, you also captured the one thing I haven’t come to loathe about living here: it keeps you honest, in a strange way. The consequences of your community’s mistakes show up much more quickly in this congested, ever-changing city than in some places. It reminds me of the old Sims games, where you can make your God-like decisions and then watch within a few minutes what that does to your planet.
But I’ve internalized the honesty thing, and I just really want to move now. Unfortunately I’m stuck here until I win the lottery, because outside of L.A. my job skills translate into positions that max out at $25k/year, which isn’t enough to live very well anywhere, anymore.
Thanks, BetaCandy. I wondered what people who live in LA might think of my reaction. I’ve also gotten the sense from the folks I know who live there that there is an increased awareness amongst thoughtful types about the impact of their choices. For example, I’ve met more hybrid owners in LA than everywhere else combined.
The visit had a profound impact on me, and I hope I can generate some additional momentum for change in my life as a result.
Bleh. I was in southern CA once and it was so crowded it made me feel like I was in an anthill. Cities are fun to visit, but it would be a special kind of hell to live in one.