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Saturday, March 7, 2015

The Air We Smell

The Southern California problem with the air quality around the Sriracha plant may at first sound frivolous, or like a first world problem, but as a long time Midwesterner, I do get how the smell in your neighborhood could drive you to distraction.

There are two things--the first is that when city folk move to farm country they may not at first fully appreciate that the romance of living amongst livestock comes with some attendant noise and aroma.  Like the children's book says, everything poops, and it usually doesn't smell all that wonderful.  On the other hand, high density animal feeding lots can make the air quite aromatic (and maybe not innocuous to the lungs) for neighbors all around.  It is time to start facing the fact that when we live densely we need to have different air quality standards in order to co-habitate.  I love Sriracha, but I do have an element of sympathy with the factory's neighbors.

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