the reason there are no actual phone alerts for the air quality in Canada and parts of the US right now is because the government doesn't want to freak people out. This is what I've taken to calling New Normal Syndrome — when people don't want to acknowledge that the worst air quality on record, or an ongoing global pandemic is cause for alarm and appropriate protective measures.
New Normal Syndrome has also affected the folks pretending it's "Normal" (or not a form of child abuse??) to take their kids out in a level 11 air quality warning without any respiratory protection before kids can comprehend the damage that will do to their lungs.
People with New Normal Syndrome can wear blinders as much as they want, they can cling to "Normal" with their fingertips, but it's not going to make it true. We're living in a global pandemic, in a climate crisis, and this is not sustainable.
We don't need to adjust to "the New Normal," we need to take appropriate steps to fix it and mitigate the damage that it's causing, at least within our own families and communities to start.












