Regarding Nell Langford’s letter on the particulates at the Oceano Dunes OHV Park (“Stand against health-threatening particulates,” Jan. 21):
Come on, Nell, you’re certainly reaching on this one. Do you mean the exhaust from the off-road vehicles, or do you mean the sand that is kicked up out there? Regarding the pollutants coming from the ORVs, there aren’t enough of them to make a difference in our air quality. As for the sand and dust kicked up by their tires, have you been out there on a windy day? There is an unbelievable amount of sand in the air, just from the wind. The particulates stirred up by the vehicles, I would think, are pretty inconsequential. And during a week like we are having lately, with all the rain, there isn’t much dust in the air at all. I’d say none, actually.
But your hatred of all things off road is showing in your attempts to stir things up. It’s been mentioned before, but a couple of cities in the Oceano Dunes area rely greatly on the money that off-road enthusiasts bring in. Are you willing to sacrifice people’s livelihood because you personally don’t like off-road vehicles? Actually, I think you would, since you are trying everything you can to stop them, even making stuff up like this.
But then again, I’m not an expert. Are you, Nell?
This article appears in Jan 28 – Feb 4, 2010.