Introducing FAQ .... Questions I get alot.
Today I address the air quality question with a delightful emailer from Pender.
I only have one question at this time, it is the pollution in the Fraser Valley, I had heard that it is bad, especially in the summer, what are your thought about this point?
I used to live in Chilliwack, my doctor told me many of his patients with repertory issues had to leave the area because of pollution coming up the valley from Vancouver, this was 20 years ago, maybe it has changed?
Your thoughts?
I can answer that. I spent a year and a half looking into this area for all its qualities, good and bad. We read random studies, looked at weather patterns, read old new articles. We're a little bit on the "control life" side of the scale... you know? Of course I laugh about it now- but we did take it very seriously.
I think it comes down to this... Every where in the world there will be things that are good, and things that are bad. You can live on and Earthquake fault, or a flood plain, or somewhere safe like Edmonton and still get the odd tornado. The benefits of living at the ecovillage for my family far out way all the other things I used to try and control about selecting a place to live. Does that make sense?
The short answer is I just moved here from Edmonton with a daughter with Asthma. We don't notice a difference in her. Occasionally we smell manure in the air, that stinks a bit- but I take it over the brewery smell that wafted through Edmonton every month or so!
I've got three new families coming for a community meeting today. All three are in their final phases of buying so I'll be with them most of today but tomorrow would be a good day to catch me!
Viv
Hi Vivian,
ReplyDeleteI was just reading a comment you made on your blog (I think I tried to respond, but I have no idea how "blogs" work!) and we too had had some concerns raised by our friends about air quality out there. I did some searching around and found this (can't verify the accuracy though):
Due to its location at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley, there has been some debate about preserving Chilliwack's air quality. However, the 2011 World Health Organization's study of air quality shows that Chilliwack enjoys air quality among the best in the world. For PM10 ( 10 microns) size particulate, Canada averaged third best in the world (along with Australia) at an average of 13 micrograms per cubic metre. The City of Chilliwack and Metro Vancouver were tied at a low 8.0 MPCM. For smaller particulate of 2.5 micron size, "the City of Chilliwack averaged 4.9 micrograms per cubic metre. Vancouver also had 4.9, Calgary had 5.6, Winnipeg had 5.6, Toronto had 7.9, Montreal had 11.2 and Sarnia had 12.7."