The city in America having the cleanest air, according to the American Lung Association (ALA), is Santa Fe, the capital of the “Land of Enchantment” – New Mexico.
I’ve been there but once, late last spring, in fact.
When I visited, there was a fierce wind blowing. Even with the strong gale, it was amazingly clear still. I’m fast reminded of a line from a The Who! song: “I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles,” it definitely applies.
Anyway, back on point, the following morning, it was more of the same although the winds had calmed in addition to there being overcast skies above.
Even though my visit was brief I could definitely see why, air-wise, Santa Fe is America’s cleanest city according to the ALA.
Continuing my travels – heading south before turning west – the first major city I happened upon was Albuquerque, and like its northern neighbor, it too that day had very good air quality. And it was more of the same in Gallup and then in crossing the state line and entering Arizona. In fact, the entire way west in returning to California, there was no noticeable – or notable – air pollution to speak of.
At Flagstaff, the air there was clean and brisk. At the 6,910-foot elevation mark, it’s understandable, even for late May.
Departing Flagstaff and California-bound, the closer I got to the Golden State the more polluted the air had become, at least on that trip, anyway.
If only there was a way to bottle Santa Fe air because air like that can’t be beat.
One final point: In another The Who! song, incidentally, “Going Mobile,” toward the end, there is this line: “I don’t care about pollution…”
Guys! “…an air-conditioned gypsy…” or no, say it ain’t so!!
– Alan Kandel
This post was last revised on Nov. 29, 2019 @ 8:14 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.