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We all know this. It’s not news to us. Aside from sun and the beaches, California is known for its smog, its ridiculously obscene amounts of air pollution. Sure, it makes for brilliantly colorful sunsets, but air pollution has become a growing concern, and it will soon spell disaster if not immediately addressed. And any Californian knows this better than anyone else.

A poll released on July 10 by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California and the Hewlett, Irvine and Packard foundations found that most Californians (three out of four) agreed that air pollution is a major problem, ranking it the top priority over all other environmental issues. They also agreed that car emissions are a major source of the problem.

There are two ingredients necessary for the making of photochemical smog: sunlight and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons that are emitted by automobiles. Obviously, California has both of these elements in spades.

The result is the formation of harmful chemicals, including tropospheric ozone, which is hazardous to the health of humans and other living things. Tropospheric ozone is not to be confused with stratospheric ozone, the abundance of which is essential to our survival, since it protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. In fact, the depletion of the latter is another environmental concern. Basically, we’re doing away with the good ozone (but that’s another story), and adding, in great quantities, to the bad ozone. Especially in California.

As noted in the American Lung Association’s 2003 air quality grading, California leads the country in air pollution. In their annual assessment, the American Lung Association grades counties on an A through F scale, based on how often their air quality crosses unhealthful standards. Twenty-eight of the state’s 58 counties flunked the test. And guess which county tops the list as the most ozone-polluted metropolitan area. Yup, you guessed it, Los Angeles. Good old Los Angeles leads the pack with the smoggiest air in the nation. Say hello to lung disease, people.

Californians are aware of the problem, as the recent poll finds, and they express deep concern about the health effects of air pollution. But the irony of it lies in the heavy denial of personal responsibility. The poll also found that most Californians expressed little concern about how much their own driving contributes to the poor air quality, and most reported being satisfied with the fuel economy of their primary vehicle (including 64 percent of van, pickup or SUV owners!) When one can say they are happy with the fuel economy of vehicles that often struggle to run 12 miles to the gallon, you start to question their logic.

Their logic is likely clouded by love. Californians sure do love their cars. This is an undeniable phenomenon. You can see it in their behavior, their speech, their love-struck eyes. They ooze with affection for their vehicles and they really cannot imagine their lives without them. This is far from an exaggeration. Societal emphasis on the virtues of car ownership has fostered the growth of a very strong lifestyle preference in most Californians.

Regardless of expressed concern, this preference too often takes precedence over the cleanness of our air. Talk is cheap. And California’s a thrift store when it comes to talk concerning their precious vehicles.

Seventy-three percent polled still drive to work alone, 62 percent wish to continue driving a vehicle as large as their current vehicle, and 55 percent did not believe that their own cars were significant contributors to air pollution. The numbers speak volumes. Ironically, as compared to the rest of the country, Californians actually express more eco-friendly views. Sixty-five percent of Californians said they place priority on environmental protection over economic growth, while nationally only 47 percent of Americans favor environmental protection.

We can talk the talk, but can we walk the walk, walking being another eco-friendly alternative? Considering the fact that California counties have rounded up the top four most heavily ozone-polluted metropolitan areas in the nation for the past four years, any great improvement seems unlikely. There is a very big difference between expressed attitudes and actual behavior.

How can we expect Californians to take an active role in the solution when the majority of them can’t even admit to being part of the problem? Maybe we just don’t care enough about our environment, or even our own personal health. Or maybe we just want to preserve that beautiful chemical sunset.

Sun is a third-year communications studies student.