On my way to work this morning on April 8 at 6:43 going south on York Road approaching 22nd Street in Oak Brook, I noticed a Pace bus spewing black smoke from the pipe atop of the bus. I was appalled at the pollution that this bus was causing. Being a government agency, one would hope that this type of blatant disregard for the air pollution laws would be taken care of. Wrong. I have seen countless buses from both Pace and the CTA that have black smoke coming out of their pipes.
But nothing was to prepare me for what I saw on the way home from work driving the Eisenhower Expy. at 3:15 pm. A truck from Salvino Hauling emitted the blackest of smoke from the pipe on the right side of its cab.
It was the thickest, darkest smoke I have ever seen from a vehicle. Every time this man stepped on the gas, the smoke filled the air. Even with your windows closed, it came through your vent.
What I don't understand is that with the entire world aware of what's going on with global warming and the devastating effects of air pollution, how is it that government agencies and companies can get away with disregarding the law? What else I don't understand is how come Illinois is not doing any more testing on cars for air pollution? I haven't had my car tested for over three years. How is it that cars that I see (and smell) can get away with polluting the air by not having clean air filters or catalytic converters that work?
This is an outrage that everyone should be concerned about. With glaciers melting at an alarming rate, with the ozone layer becoming ever wider, with people developing breathing problems on a daily basis due to pollution, when are our elected officials going to take this threat seriously and go after these polluters?
Marie Perkins,
Oak Park
Photo: Dave Bartman, Post-Tribune / Exhaust emissions spew from the tailpipe of a pickup truck in January. ;
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