We have had many foggy days this year, Launceston being in a river valley is prone to fog. Fog is mostly water vapour and mostly it casts a white vale across the landscape However too many homes in this river valley rely on wood heating. The blue smoke builds up under the white vale as a blue haze then by 9 am if the sun hasn’t penetrated higher cloud car exhaust add a thin layer of yellow which can linger until mid day unless a breeze scatters it.
A local Dr once told me that Launceston has some of the highest rates of chronic asthma in Australia. To add to this horrible statistic I recently read a UN report that stated that in settlements where wood is used as heating fuel the children in those places have significantly lower academic achievement levels. That is also sadly true in Launceston and it has been so for many generations. Personally I have never experienced a place where so many adults have limited reading ability and numeracy skills. And yet, we have a state government that is insistent on wasting money on unneeded capital works in the form of a sports stadium for a Tasmanian football team when there is a perfectly good stadium in Launceston, it even has a lighting system that can often be seen standing proud above the smog. Liberal governments always seem to have disarranged foggy priorities!
