Is this vog or is there a fire?

[unknownjulie]

It is smokey. I can't even see the ocean from my house. Does anyone know for sure? thanks

[kalakoa]

No, your house looks fine from here.

[unknownjulie]

You are a riot, but I guess it's "just" vog. I can barely breathe. It's bad today!

[Wao nahele kane]

The forest is burning too, maybe that's it.

- Armed citizens provide security of a free State.

[csgray]

We drove over to Spencers Beach Park today and there was a lot of VOG on both ends of the Saddle, the only clear stretch was around Mauna Kea State Park. It was thick everywhere else. You couldn't even see Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa for most of the drive, or see the ocean until well past Waimea, much less see Maui.

This site has VOG good forecasts and models for the island. http://weather.hawaii.edu/vmap/hysplit/

Carol

[Kelena]

I see why my dog died of COPD now.

[CoreyTaber]

Kelena, seriously? That makes me worry about mine.

[Kelena]

CoreyTaber: That is my strong suspicion. When you talk to people about the air here the first phrase out of their mouths is "Cleanest air in the world all the scientists sample it as the gold standard for amazing clean air blah blah blah". It's a reflexive statement that some utter without a single shred of evidence that it is true (that we have consistently clean air). When people say that now I just look at them like they are crazy.

My dog developed COPD quite suddenly. One day she didn't have it; the next day she did. I didn't realize it could kill her and by the time I did, it was too late to evacuate her. All I know is that one day last April she did something I had never, ever heard her do: she coughed. The next day she coughed some more. Then she coughed to the point that she was keeping me awake. I took her to a very stupid vet and he told me to "watch it for a month". I watched it for 4 days and couldn't stand it anymore. Then I took her to another vet where she was misdiagnosed with heart disease. Finally got her to a good vet who had her heart and lungs reviewed by a radiologist: Nothing wrong with her heart -- she had been on the wrong medication for an entire month, which included diuretics which made her also do something she had never done: pee all over the place. Something was wrong with her lungs. They eliminated everything except this goofy generic COPD stuff. I took her to another vet locally because the good vet was in Waimea. He agreed with the vet in Waimea and then confirmed what she had told me: There is a high incidence of COPD in pets here. And the cause of that was clear to both vets: the volcano. I spent five months of my life desperately trying to save her and watching in disbelief as she just got worse, and worse and worse.

COPD does not strike every living thing. Some people get it and most do not. Same with dogs I suspect. I think most dogs probably would not get it. But I personally will live the rest of my life thinking that it is more likely than not that by bringing my beautiful girl here, I killed her.

Knowing what I know now, I would never have brought her here. Friends think I am crazy but before she died I was actively trying to get her back to the mainland to go live with my ex-partner. They said something along the lines of "Oh, but wouldn't you miss her?" To which, I am thinking "Oh yeah -- I am going to subject my dog to an environment that seems to be killing her just so I won't have to miss her." By the time, I was ready to do that, her mainland vet and her vet here told me she was too sick to travel.

I think the island killed her. Yes. And I think the air quality here is very bad. It's fun air -- it is warm and balmy and sensuous. And toxic. The island obviously doesn't kill every dog and many dogs are transported here and live nice healthy lives. But I believe it killed mine. And that kills me. Pinpointing this with scientific certainty is impossible. But I was extremely attentive to my dog and knew every hair on her head and noticed the slightest change in her health or behavior. She declined very rapidly and died due to respiratory problems after moving to the island. Two vets uttered what no one else will utter: the volcano is not good for your lungs. It just isn't.

Although attributing the death of a particular dog or person to the volcano is difficult, there is certainly no question about this: The air quality on Hawaii Island is not "the best in the whole world". It smells like a BBQ half the time. Your nose knows.

It is true that when the tradewinds blow nice and steady, the air seems refreshing, but that doesn't happen all the time, especially in Winter when they die back a little. And so I think what happens is you alternate between having seemingly amazing air.....and breathing air straight from Halema'uma'u to you. So, it is kinda like lying in a hospital bed and getting a blast of pure oxygen through a mask, and then when the good nurse has left the room an evil nurse comes in and connects your ventilator to a Weber grill.

[ericlp]

Bummer about your dog. But I'm about a mile for the beach and have never had a cough or sore throat and my neighbors dogs are all healthy... I think it really depends where you live. If you live in Fern Forest or Volcano you should expect some bad air more than people living near a beach on the east side beach that is. I know people that have dogs in Volcano ... They don't seem to have any issues so... It could be a type of breed or just your dog in particular that couldn't handle the VOG. Hope you can move on and maybe get a new Best Friend. Plenty of them in the shelters.

[geochem]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kelena


COPD does not strike every living thing. Some people get it and most do not. Same with dogs I suspect. I think most dogs probably would not get it. But I personally will live the rest of my life thinking that it is more likely than not that by bringing my beautiful girl here, I killed her.

And so I think what happens is you alternate between having seemingly amazing air.....and breathing air straight from Halema'uma'u to you. So, it is kinda like lying in a hospital bed and getting a blast of pure oxygen through a mask, and then when the good nurse has left the room an evil nurse comes in and connects your ventilator to a Weber grill.

---

You may be unfairly blaming the volcano - Puna is known for high incidences of lung problems but I think the more likely cause is mold and fungi - some of which are toxic. I lived in Puna for a while but, during monsoon season, every time I came indoors, I could feel my lungs react to the mold and mildew. The house was supplied by solar and didn't have enough juice to run a dehumidifier. The whole place was permeated with mildew after a couple of weeks of rain. Had to leave...