Blue was a great dog. She was a smart and affectionate Siberian Husky who could speak on command and always knew where I hid the dog treats; that I kept for her when she came to visit me at my job. But Blue became a victim of Los Angeles in what became a tragic disease caused by being a resident of Los Angeles, the victim of its toxic exterior. You see, Blue died from Carcinogenic lung cancer, due to long term exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment (it goes without saying that Blue did not smoke cigarettes-and for the record neither did her owner).
Carcinogenic forms of lung cancer are on the rise in our pets, and in case you think that does not effect you, think again. They are dieing because they are breathing the same air that we are. Like the canaries that use to be brought into the coal mines to warn of poor air quality, our pets are contracting the diseases that we are destined to contract years later. Indeed, had Blue lived in a city with cleaner air quality and better environmental policies, like Portland Oregon for example, there is a real chance that my friend's dog Blue might still be alive today.
Unfortunately for Blue, she lived in a toxic city. A city that saw such bad air quality last year that, during the ever reliable annual Los Angeles's fire season, the city became such a thick airless dingy blanket of smog, lasting for weeks, it made life in the city virtually uninhabitable. In response, those residents of Los Angeles that could afford to, piled into cars and planes and began clamoring out of the city in droves in a desperate attempt to find air. And those of us that stayed, tried to find solace in the nearest oxygen bar.
The concerns about air quality and its effects on health are not a new subject for health care practitioners, (or anyone concerned with social justice and inequality as it pertains to health) a considerable amount of data has been collected on the correlation between poor air quality, poverty, and illness. What concerns me is how the residents of Los Angeles have learned to adapt and accept conditions which are, for the most part, unbearable.
Indeed, the burden of the city is so great, it has grown increasingly more difficult for most residents to live here. And we are growing accustomed to it. We have grown accustomed to two-hour commutes on roads that have grown increasingly dangerous and dilapidated. We have grown accustomed to dangerous drivers that ignore the recent ban on using cell phones while driving. And spend more time looking at their navigational systems then looking at the road they are suppose to be driving on.
We have grown accustomed to ignoring and being ignored. We have grown accustomed to becoming annoyed by the countless homeless veterans and mentally ill displaced persons we see every day on our streets. Our annoyance replaces what should have, and what might have, once passed for human compassion. In a city filled with people that spend more time concerning themselves with celebrity gossip then the welfare of our citizens. And we have grown accustomed to that as well.
We have grown tolerant of a level of rudeness that is completely unacceptable in any society with even a minimal understanding of propriety and decency. In my practice, I have gotten use to treating patients that hold up their hands to silence me mid-sentence while they talk to a faceless someone on the other end of their cell phone. I have gotten use to people walking away from me while delivering the patient's treatment plan as they respond to a text message. And I have grown accustomed to a city so toxic, it continues to leave its soiled footprints on every aspect of our health and the health of our pets.
So while we vote in the next election, and begin to contemplate who will hold California's next governor's and senate seats, I hope when we cast our ballots we take a moment to think about the toll Los Angeles is taking on our health, and the toll it could take on our futures if things don't begin to change soon. As for me, I plan on thinking of my friends pet Husky. Her name was Blue, she was a great dog and great companion, and I miss her greatly.
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