The Air We Breathe

Clean air at Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite, CA

Air is something we all take for granted. So is breathing. Yesterday while at Walmart I started having a funny feeling in my throat and couldn't help but cough. Being around the food I was very self-consious and coughed into my elbow. "Great," I thought, "I haven't coughed all season and it hits me right when I'm in the middle of the grocery store." I tried swallowing to get rid of the dry tickle, but since that didn't work I shopped quickly to get out of the store as soon as possible.

In the checkout line, the lady in front of me was coughing a great deal.  The customer told the cashier that several people in the store were coughing uncontrollably. My eavesdropping ears perked up as as the cashier informed her that management was reviewing surveillance tapes. Usually I don't butt into others' conversations, but I was intrigued (and a little anxious that I would be blamed for starting a cold epidemic by coughing in the food section). The cashier informed me that someone had sprayed pepper spray in the store and hopefully the culprit would be caught.

Whew! I was off the hook. But on the other hand I was upset that I was subjected to something so ugly. Just how safe is the air we breathe? How can we protect ourselves from stupid people who think it's funny to spray pepper spray in public? Even more important, how can we protect ourselves from someone dangerous who sprays something more toxic into our air? Luckily, my coughing cleared up shortly after leaving the store.