I moved to Denver in October 2020 with all my stuff in a UHaul, never having been there before. After traversing the seemingly endless plains of Iowa and Nebraska and eastern Colorado, I was looking forward to watching the mountains rise up on the horizon, a sight I had been told was magic. But that moment never happened. The mountains were curtained by a thick layer of smoke.
Wildfire smoke has become something of a fact of life in the West, but the smoke that has descended upon the East Coast is truly unprecedented, sending New York City's air quality to its worst level since the 1960s and making it unsafe for millions of people to spend time outdoors. The smoke originated from hundreds of wildfires in Canada and serves as a visceral reminder of the health and environmental effects of unchecked climate change.
Summer has developed an apocalyptic tinge. I wonder how long the smoke would have to linger over Washington, DC, for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to realize that the threat is real—and that the only solution is immediate and dramatic decarbonization.
If you're affected by the smoke, how are you handling it? Have you had to cancel any outdoor plans? And do you see it as a warning sign that could herald a brighter future, or is it all doom and gloom? Shoot me a message here.
—Abigail Weinberg
P.S. If you're looking for something to do in the Bay Area on Thursday, consider attending a conversation between Orange Is the New Black author Piper Kerman and Keri Blakinger, a journalist and author of the memoir Corrections in Ink, about her journey from competitive figure skating to addiction, a prison sentence, and a career as a criminal justice reporter. The event, hosted at the Booksmith, will be moderated by our very own Samantha Michaels. Get your tickets here.
