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| Haze Returns to Mexico City Where Not Driving Is Hardly an Option | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| MEXICO CITY — Back in the late 1980s, the air got so dirty in Mexico City that birds would emit a final chirp before they tumbled from the trees onto the sidewalk, their small, still bodies a sad testament to some of the world’s worst air pollution. | MEXICO CITY — Back in the late 1980s, the air got so dirty in Mexico City that birds would emit a final chirp before they tumbled from the trees onto the sidewalk, their small, still bodies a sad testament to some of the world’s worst air pollution. |
| I heard this story a lot when I first arrived in the city a few years later. Nobody had actually seen it happen, of course, but the urban legend’s black humor revealed a perverse pride in survival. | I heard this story a lot when I first arrived in the city a few years later. Nobody had actually seen it happen, of course, but the urban legend’s black humor revealed a perverse pride in survival. |
| Then the smog began to lift. The government shut down a big oil refinery and pushed heavy industry out of the city. Regulations stripped the lead from gasoline and created incentives for people to buy cleaner new cars. | Then the smog began to lift. The government shut down a big oil refinery and pushed heavy industry out of the city. Regulations stripped the lead from gasoline and created incentives for people to buy cleaner new cars. |
| And the birdsong resumed. | And the birdsong resumed. |
| Until now. The city has registered only 20 “clean” days so far this year. On all the other days, particulates and ozone rose above the government’s limit. | Until now. The city has registered only 20 “clean” days so far this year. On all the other days, particulates and ozone rose above the government’s limit. |
| What accounts for the backsliding? A central reason is that pollution simply dropped off the public’s radar. | What accounts for the backsliding? A central reason is that pollution simply dropped off the public’s radar. |
| “As long as people don’t complain and it’s not high visibility, the government doesn’t put a high priority on it,” said Mario J. Molina, a Nobel laureate in chemistry and the director of a Mexico City research institute that bears his name, who is advising the authorities about the next steps they should take. | “As long as people don’t complain and it’s not high visibility, the government doesn’t put a high priority on it,” said Mario J. Molina, a Nobel laureate in chemistry and the director of a Mexico City research institute that bears his name, who is advising the authorities about the next steps they should take. |
| Without a sense of urgency, antipollution measures that could have made a difference years ago have stalled. The federal government, for example, has dawdled over raising the emissions standards for new vehicles. | Without a sense of urgency, antipollution measures that could have made a difference years ago have stalled. The federal government, for example, has dawdled over raising the emissions standards for new vehicles. |
| Although the region was able to reduce levels of major pollutants well into the 2000s, ozone and particulates remained stubbornly high over the past decade and even increased. | Although the region was able to reduce levels of major pollutants well into the 2000s, ozone and particulates remained stubbornly high over the past decade and even increased. |
| In April, the regional environment commission forced the issue by sharply lowering the level at which it declares an emergency. | In April, the regional environment commission forced the issue by sharply lowering the level at which it declares an emergency. |
| Suddenly, talk of pollution is everywhere. Radio reports give hourly updates as ozone levels climb each afternoon, noting how close the city is to another emergency. Newspapers plaster their front pages with photographs of vast urban landscapes shrouded in a gray-yellow murk. On Twitter, drivers post photographs of vehicles coughing filthy fumes. A longtime laissez-faire approach to outdoor activities has given way to anxious checks of the city’s pollution map. | Suddenly, talk of pollution is everywhere. Radio reports give hourly updates as ozone levels climb each afternoon, noting how close the city is to another emergency. Newspapers plaster their front pages with photographs of vast urban landscapes shrouded in a gray-yellow murk. On Twitter, drivers post photographs of vehicles coughing filthy fumes. A longtime laissez-faire approach to outdoor activities has given way to anxious checks of the city’s pollution map. |
| There were rumors that the government was importing dirty gasoline from China, which officials quickly denied. | There were rumors that the government was importing dirty gasoline from China, which officials quickly denied. |
| The smoggy reality has led the authorities to clamp down. Emergency measures are in force until the end of the month, when the summer rains come. | The smoggy reality has led the authorities to clamp down. Emergency measures are in force until the end of the month, when the summer rains come. |
| Every day, roughly 20 percent of the region’s cars are grounded. Ozone and particulates have climbed so high that the environment commission has declared eight pollution emergencies since March, imposing special rules that include taking 40 percent of the cars off the road. | Every day, roughly 20 percent of the region’s cars are grounded. Ozone and particulates have climbed so high that the environment commission has declared eight pollution emergencies since March, imposing special rules that include taking 40 percent of the cars off the road. |
| But drivers waiting at an emissions inspections station recently said that they were taking all the heat. | But drivers waiting at an emissions inspections station recently said that they were taking all the heat. |
| “Keeping cars at home does not resolve absolutely anything,” said Óscar Rojas Ayala, 50, a criminal defense lawyer who uses his 2009 Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle to visit his clients in the city’s far-flung jails. “They should prove it.” | “Keeping cars at home does not resolve absolutely anything,” said Óscar Rojas Ayala, 50, a criminal defense lawyer who uses his 2009 Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle to visit his clients in the city’s far-flung jails. “They should prove it.” |
| “This is all just a business for the government to make more money,” said Armando Cortés de la Rosa, 58, who does not live in the city but needs an inspection sticker to visit relatives. “You take two million cars off the road and the pollution has continued.” | “This is all just a business for the government to make more money,” said Armando Cortés de la Rosa, 58, who does not live in the city but needs an inspection sticker to visit relatives. “You take two million cars off the road and the pollution has continued.” |
| “What’s the strategy?” asked Elsa Pliego, 46. Some antipollution measures just create more traffic, she argued, like the bike lanes that herd cars into single file. “Today they do one thing. Tomorrow another.” | “What’s the strategy?” asked Elsa Pliego, 46. Some antipollution measures just create more traffic, she argued, like the bike lanes that herd cars into single file. “Today they do one thing. Tomorrow another.” |
| To understand why having a car here is so important, consider the daily commute of Iris Venegas Maldonado. She leaves no later than 6:15 a.m. from her parents’ house in the northern suburb of Tlalnepantla, catching two lurching microbuses before she reaches a subway station. | To understand why having a car here is so important, consider the daily commute of Iris Venegas Maldonado. She leaves no later than 6:15 a.m. from her parents’ house in the northern suburb of Tlalnepantla, catching two lurching microbuses before she reaches a subway station. |
| She takes “exaggeratedly crowded” subway trains before emerging back onto the street, where she boards yet another bus to arrive at her job as a physician assistant at 9 a.m. | She takes “exaggeratedly crowded” subway trains before emerging back onto the street, where she boards yet another bus to arrive at her job as a physician assistant at 9 a.m. |
| “It’s frustrating, because I spend so much time during my day traveling,” said Ms. Venegas, 26, who just completed medical school. | “It’s frustrating, because I spend so much time during my day traveling,” said Ms. Venegas, 26, who just completed medical school. |
| On a recent day, a protest march had diverted traffic, and she spent seven hours on public transportation. “I could have been doing something else,” she said, in something of an understatement. | On a recent day, a protest march had diverted traffic, and she spent seven hours on public transportation. “I could have been doing something else,” she said, in something of an understatement. |
| At the heart of the problem is how this megalopolis of more than 20 million people has evolved. | At the heart of the problem is how this megalopolis of more than 20 million people has evolved. |
| About 8.5 million people live in Mexico City, and the rest inhabit an endless sprawl that encompasses everything from gated communities to concrete slums. But residents of both rich and poor neighborhoods are often far from their jobs. As soon as any family can afford to buy a car, it does. | About 8.5 million people live in Mexico City, and the rest inhabit an endless sprawl that encompasses everything from gated communities to concrete slums. But residents of both rich and poor neighborhoods are often far from their jobs. As soon as any family can afford to buy a car, it does. |
| The Mario Molina Center estimates that there are now more than five million cars in the metropolitan area. | The Mario Molina Center estimates that there are now more than five million cars in the metropolitan area. |
| Mexico City’s mayor, Miguel Ángel Mancera, said old regulations have inhibited the construction of low-income housing inside the city’s limits. “The people who want to live here cannot,” he said in an interview. “The city has to become more compact so that people do not make these crazy trips.” | Mexico City’s mayor, Miguel Ángel Mancera, said old regulations have inhibited the construction of low-income housing inside the city’s limits. “The people who want to live here cannot,” he said in an interview. “The city has to become more compact so that people do not make these crazy trips.” |
| Leonardo Martínez Flores, an urban planning expert who coordinated the area’s 2011-20 regional air plan, said the problem was about much more than housing: The entire city must be reconceived. | Leonardo Martínez Flores, an urban planning expert who coordinated the area’s 2011-20 regional air plan, said the problem was about much more than housing: The entire city must be reconceived. |
| “If you don’t attack the problem of the urban structure, it doesn’t matter how much you invest in public transport,” warned Mr. Martínez, who is also advising the city on emergency pollution measures. “It doesn’t resolve the underlying issue.” | “If you don’t attack the problem of the urban structure, it doesn’t matter how much you invest in public transport,” warned Mr. Martínez, who is also advising the city on emergency pollution measures. “It doesn’t resolve the underlying issue.” |
| The path of least resistance means the city has accommodated itself to cars. A long ribbon of elevated highway circles much of the city before expanding north into the neighboring State of Mexico, where public transportation is at its most haphazard. In my years here, I have seen developments the size of a small American city spring up with only a four-lane access road — plus speed bumps — built to reach them. | |
| Developers erect skyscrapers with a dozen floors reserved for parking. The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, an economic think tank, estimates that 42 percent of space in new developments built between 2009 and 2013 was designated for parking. | Developers erect skyscrapers with a dozen floors reserved for parking. The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, an economic think tank, estimates that 42 percent of space in new developments built between 2009 and 2013 was designated for parking. |
| “We are constructing housing for cars,” said Gabriela Alarcón, an urban planning expert at the institute. | “We are constructing housing for cars,” said Gabriela Alarcón, an urban planning expert at the institute. |
| Some people blame new speed limits for the pollution. Given that the average driving speed at rush hour is between three and seven miles per hour, the Mario Molina Center dryly noted that the new regulations did “not require priority attention.” | Some people blame new speed limits for the pollution. Given that the average driving speed at rush hour is between three and seven miles per hour, the Mario Molina Center dryly noted that the new regulations did “not require priority attention.” |
| Last week, the federal and local governments announced new emissions inspection rules, which, for the first time, apply to trucks and buses. Cars will no longer be automatically grounded, but emissions levels will be stricter and inspections tightened to prevent widespread corruption. | Last week, the federal and local governments announced new emissions inspection rules, which, for the first time, apply to trucks and buses. Cars will no longer be automatically grounded, but emissions levels will be stricter and inspections tightened to prevent widespread corruption. |
| The city has pledged to install new sensors to detect “dirty” vehicles, which the police would then stop and tow. | The city has pledged to install new sensors to detect “dirty” vehicles, which the police would then stop and tow. |
| Mayor Mancera promised that the new rules on dirty trucks and buses, among other measures, would constitute a “before and after” for the city. | Mayor Mancera promised that the new rules on dirty trucks and buses, among other measures, would constitute a “before and after” for the city. |
| He has also proposed a crackdown on industrial emissions and programs for cleaner taxis and delivery vans, and has begun negotiations to limit cargo trucks to nighttime hours. | He has also proposed a crackdown on industrial emissions and programs for cleaner taxis and delivery vans, and has begun negotiations to limit cargo trucks to nighttime hours. |
| Back at the emissions inspection center, drivers debated what — or who — was to blame. | Back at the emissions inspection center, drivers debated what — or who — was to blame. |
| Gerardo Sánchez, 40, who sells salads to office workers from the back of his 2007 Volkswagen Pointer and loses income when his car is grounded, named a favorite culprit. | Gerardo Sánchez, 40, who sells salads to office workers from the back of his 2007 Volkswagen Pointer and loses income when his car is grounded, named a favorite culprit. |
| “The politicians have two or three cars of bodyguards behind them,” he said. “How much do they pollute?” | “The politicians have two or three cars of bodyguards behind them,” he said. “How much do they pollute?” |