Sunday 07/27/2008 Burning

12:00 AM: Still smoky.

1:00 AM: Still smoky. Yes, even at 1 AM the air is too smoky to open the windows.

It is 70 degrees outside at this time. It is cooler outside than it is inside. When I stuck my head out the back door I could hear the neighbor's air conditioner running. They can't open the windows to cool of the house and neither can I. NOBODY AROUND HERE CAN!

This is a waste of electricity. None of my immediate neighbors have their windows open right now. Everyone has to leave the AC running because the air is too smoky to breathe. If people leave the windows open everyone's house will reek of wood smoke!

Do you think my 80 year old neighbor wants to breathe smoky air in his bedroom? I doubt it. Nobody would. But the city council and mayor created the ordinance that allows this unnecessary air pollution and they are unwilling to do anything about it. The blame for this smoky hell of a city rests squarely on the shoulders of the mayor and city council.

As of 1 AM nobody I can see around me is burning. It could be someone blocks away for all I know. The smoke travels. It does not stay confined to the burner's property. There is really no breeze right now, so the smoke just lingers all around.

We are prisoners in our own homes.

2:15 AM: Still very smoky. Just as smoky as it was the hours before. It is 68 degrees outside. I imagine that everyone around me would like to have their windows open right now, I sure do. But we can't thanks to the leadership of this city.

3:30 AM: At this hour it is still very smoky outside. I wonder if someone didn't extinguish their fire properly. Going to bed now.

I heard someone else's air conditioner going. It is 66 degrees outside and everybody has to leave the AC running because of the smoky air. What a waste of electricity.