Breathing Room for Californians

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/opinion/letters/california-wildfires-air-pollution.html

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To the Editor:

Amid the horrifying news of the California fires and their ramifications, I found the most haunting piece to be “How Californians Are Breathing in the ‘New Abnormal’ of Epic Fires,” by Wendy MacNaughton (illustrations, nytimes.com, Nov. 17). It is a snapshot of the breathing mask industry addressing smoke and other serious air pollution.

Yes, the piece captures the experience of my daughter in Oakland and millions of other Californians who, despite living far from a fire, have been instructed to stay indoors. But more important, it captures our changing society.

It evokes E.M. Forster’s visionary short story “The Machine Stops,” published in 1909, about a future time when human civilization has moved underground to breathe filtered air and drink filtered water, because humans have rendered the earth’s surface uninhabitable.

Saddest of all, the piece notes the growth potential of this newer industry aimed at mitigating health hazards relating to our damaged environment.

Anne MackinBoston