On Thu, 22 Jun 2006 18:36:34 GMT, B A R R Y
wrote:

Kingfish wrote:

I'm confused. You say (he said) vis is better now than in the late
60's/early 70's due to airborne pollution then say vis was far better
in the 50's than it is today.

scratching head

It makes sense to me this way:

Visibility was of a certain quality in the 50's. It got worse in the
60's & 70's. These days, it's better than it was the 60's & 70's, but
not as good as the 50's.

But then again, I've been wrong before! G

Maybe 1/10th the population. No super highways. One car (at most)
per family. Neighborhood stores you could walk to. Nobody driving
kids everywhere; that's what bikes and buses were for.

Industrial pollution was worse, but it was particulates (or burning
pig**** from Secaucus), rather than oxides of nitorgen, so it stayed
localized and didn't rise very high.

From what I remember as a kid in Hackensack in the '50s, visibility
down low was often marginal (couldn't see the NYC skyline four or five
miles away from Prospect Ave.), but I suspect that was not too
widespread nor did it extend beyond the inversion layer.

Don