Four years sans smoke

If my lungs were Southern California’s skies, things would be looking really clear right about now.

The various cargo transport systems — planes, trains, boats, and related equipment — would have all shifted to hydrogen fuels.

Most of the internal-combustion cars would be gone, either replaced by hydrogen, or drivers trading in cars for trains, bicycles, and their feet.

It would have taken a while, and of course the odd brush fire or industrial by-products would be popping up and causing problems, but by and large the health of the entire region — of the environment and of the population — would be astoundingly improved.

If only solving our smog woes were as “easy” as quitting smoking, which is to say not easy so much as conceived possible and then perpetuated. Four years ago yesterday, as a matter of fact.

Now, it is true that I’m recovering from an injury suffered whilst performing a healthy activity. The irony is not lost on me.

Being healthy does not mean being risk-free, but doing nothing is guaranteed to kill you.