Keep politics out

By Frank Saburit
Madera

(Updated Monday, December 30, 2002, 4:26 PM)

The solution to our dirty air is simple, provided we keep partisan politics from clouding the issue.

This includes environmental politics.

The obvious problem is automobiles and commercial trucks. Valley traffic has tripled in the last 15 years, and a great deal of that is commercial trucks. If more products were shipped by rail, we would cut a great deal of smog out of the Valley while cutting costs on freeway maintenance. I don't want commercial trucking to go away, but there must be a responsible balance.

Cars today are clean. On unhealthy days, the exhaust from a modern automobile is cleaner than what we breathe. The key is to get the 5% of automobiles that are causing 75% of the pollution off the road. These are improperly maintained vehicles. If you can't afford to maintain your automobile, don't drive. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

Then comes a more comprehensive public transportation system. Most people drive because it is the most direct way to get from point "A" to point "B." If those who struggle to make ends meet need to get to work, and it takes 20 minutes to drive as opposed to changing buses two or three times and taking an hour, they are going to drive whether the car is maintained or not.

Politicians are eager to punish people who drive SUVs because that is where the money is. When it comes to politics, it's about money. Politicians would rather tax than effectively deal with the problem at hand.

Bring back roadside inspections and impound the "gross polluters." A more comprehensive public transit system that people will use, and shipping more products by rail are the answers. Don't punish the achievers and the farmers who put food on our tables.