And the anti-mask campaigners on social media are out in full force against the suggestion anything should be done to protect oneself from the horrendous air quality in the northeast United States caused by unusual levels of wildfires in Canada. And it’s all related. All the push against public health has to do with protecting financial interests that depend on public health catastrophes going unstopped and unmitigated. The pandemic, climate catastrophe, pollution – the consequences are worth it to those profiting off causing the problems. And anyone who dares to suggest wearing N95 masks, working from home, or not going to restaurants, is hit with ridiculous abuse, and behind this zeal is an economic agenda.
Like tobacco advertising, we are told it’s no big deal – it’s all mild.
The National Weather Service even was spinning the bad air as a “mild” weather event. NWS Binghamton tweeted: “Smoky conditions and mild temperatures expected to continue tomorrow. Persistent northerly flow will continue to maintain smoky conditions from wildfires in Canada, with the smoke keeping high temperatures on the mild side.” The Washington Post recommended masks for bad air quality but yet does it in a way that acted as if nobody ever wore a mask for any other reason recently. Don’t mention covid! Mandate Masks NY has been pushing for free N95 masks in New York for ages now, and finally there are distributions going on. This should happen nationwide.
The smoke has cleared out quite a bit here in Scranton Pennsylvania, but the air quality continues to be poor — not as bad as a few days ago, but quite lousy.
“In developing regulations the EPA was directed to weigh only one concern: public health. The costs to industry were explicitly deemed irrelevant.”
– Jane Mayer, Dark Money (2016)
Better policies are possible.