Fighting Trump's Smog War in California

I found this article on CityLab interesting because it shows how people, especially young people, using modern tech, can fight back against oppressive government actions that directly affect their lives and their health.

In this case, a high school student has created an air quality monitoring network that provides real-time information about the levels of dangerous airborne pollutants in Fresno, California. Fresno has some of the worst air pollution in California and will be directly affected by the Trump administration's bid override California's stricter air quality standards.

For White, the political volleying feels like a dismaying waste of time. To him, the stakes are higher than Fresno’s bad air: White also organized Fresno’s local climate strike, leading youth marchers through downtown streets to call on leaders to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. They chanted lines that he came up with: We walk as one, we breathe as one, we’re not going to stop ‘til the work is done. In an upcoming march, White plans to brandish signs asking Costa to pledge support for the Green New Deal.

After all, election results don’t always fully represent what people need or want. The San Joaquin Valley has some of the lowest voter turnout in the state. In White’s neighborhood, people feel disempowered, he said. He hopes his work will change that. Right now, he’s working with city officials to install an air quality monitor in each of the 115 square miles that make up Fresno, which will make his platform more accurate and useful. And he’s building a database that anyone can use to find air quality information. “We want to give this data to the community and let them press it to decision-makers,” White said.