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air quality
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2021-08-15
Pandemics, Wildfires, and Climate Change
The Covid 19 Pandemic is and was a transformative event representing history in the making. The state of Oregon and particularly Portland witnessed a trifecta of converging crises beginning with the lockdown on St. Patrick’s Day in 2020. That summer was one of the hottest in recorded history and saw the city and state divided in smoke-filled chaos. The literal last words of “I can’t breathe” uttered by George Floyd were being chanted in the streets downtown as wildfires raged in all corners of the state, set against the backdrop of a global pandemic. Everything felt surreal and the tension in the city was like a powder keg. By the following summer some advancements had been made, the first round of vaccinations administered, but the same underlying issues were present in Portland. Houselessness, fractured political ideologies, and Far-Right and Far-Left members clashing in an invisible maelstrom on the Willamette River. My husband and I had adhered to the very stringent guidelines and protocol set by both the city and state to the letter. For a bit of context, my husband worked on the front line as a department manager at a grocery store and wore a mask for eleven hours at a time often six days a week for a year and a half, while I volunteered at the Red Cross and held down the home front. In August of 2021, we finally decided that we needed to get out of town, so we grabbed the dog and set a course for the Crooked River in Central Oregon. It was a two-week period of sheer peace and glory bookended by fear and anger at the negligence of fellow humans. We camped on the river and practiced mindfulness and being present every day, breathing deeply the fresh air ushered in by a strong breeze from the East. The “going there” and “going home” portions were marred by anti-mask protestors with weapons arguing about state’s rights, as death toll numbers were rising. The fires had already burned over a million acres with no signs of slowing down, and the reality of Portland’s social justice issues did not disappear just because we did. The experience left us feeling gratitude for the opportunity to explore, our good health, and open minds, it was our 18th wedding anniversary, in which porcelain is traditionally given as a gift. Ironic, given the fact that not only is porcelain extraordinarily beautiful but also incredibly delicate, a perfect representation of the state of things during the summer of 2021. -
2021-07-22
Hourly AQI Sacramento Region Thursday, July 22
This is an animated map of air quality in the Sacramento, CA region on Thursday, July 22, 2021. The map shows the air quality in the region every twenty minutes during the day. From roughly 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, Camp Wolfeboro is located in the "unhealthy" air quality index level. From 7:00 AM to 12:00 noon the air quality is "unhealthy for sensitive groups". The poor air quality in the region appears to originate in Alpine County based on the animation, the location of the Tamarack Fire. -
2021-07
Tamarack Smoke Outlook, Thursday, July 22
This is a report from the USFS Wildland Fire Quality Response Program outlining the expected air quality impact of the Tamarack Fire near Lake Tahoe from Thursday-Friday, July 22-23, 2021. The reports discusses the possibility of increased smoke in the areas south of the Tamarack Fire, which includes Camp Wolfeboro. The report also notes the fire on Thursday had increased over 10,000 acres in size from the day before. -
2020-08-21
'Severe inhumanity': California prisons overwhelmed by Covid outbreaks and approaching fires
This Tweet and article concern the conditions inmates in California's prisons are experiencing. First they had to deal with Covid-19 and figure out how to slow the spread of the disease within overcrowded facilities where social distancing is impossible and mask wearing presents its own set of issues. Second incarcerated people are living in a near constant state of lockdown, visitation and even communication with family and friends is gone. Third they are facing the threat of wildfires within a few miles of several prisons causing the people inside the buildings to breath air filled with smoke. To add insult to injury the state of California uses prison labor to fight these same fires. This article illustrates how we as a society treat those most at risk among us. Even those in a correctional facility for the terminally ill in hospice care are not being evacuated. -
2020-08
Tweets from Inside a Prison 08/16-08/22/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These Tweets were posted by a man inside a prison using a contraband cell phone. This week he talks about their nutrition, lack of air conditioning, lack of showers, the wildfires near Vacaville Prison in California and the lack of plan for evacuation, a friend that recently died of Covid, and how good it felt to finely be allowed to go outside for a bit.