Poll: Air worries on rise

Tuesday April 29, 2003, 10:44:00 PM

SACRAMENTO -- Air pollution and growth issues are beginning to worry Central Valley residents as much or more than they do people in Los Angeles, a new poll released today confirms.

They also think the valley's economy is deteriorating.

But that doesn't mean valley residents aren't happy with the region as a place to live.

The poll is an annual update of a survey taken by two think tanks, the California Public Policy Institute and the Great Valley Center. It contacted 2,000 adults from April 10 to April 21 in the 19-county Central Valley area from Kern County north to Shasta County.

Overall, 75 percent of the region's residents said air pollution is a problem. Of that group, 41 percent said it is a big problem and 34 percent said it was somewhat of a problem.

That marks the first time that valley residents have registered a higher concern about air quality than those in Los Angeles, said Mark Baldassare, the policy institute's survey director. He noted that in a survey the previous month, 37 percent of Los Angeles County residents said air pollution was a big problem in their area.

"The fact that Central Valley residents are more concerned about air pollution than people in L.A. County, the bad-air poster child for so many years, is pretty stunning," Baldassare said. "But this problem is hitting home very directly for many valley residents."

The concern was markedly higher in the southern end of the valley, where Kern County is located and where the highest levels of air pollution are consistently recorded.

Baldassare said the rising concern apparently is driven by worry about the health effects of smog. Some 67 percent said the health threat posed by air pollution is very serious or somewhat serious in their part of the valley. And 37 percent said they or someone in their family suffers from asthma or other respiratory problems.

When it comes to acting on their concerns, 51 percent said they would be willing to take public transit more often and 79 percent -- including 77 percent of SUV owners -- said they would be willing to drive more fuel-efficient, lower-emission vehicles, even if they preferred bigger gas-guzzlers.

But there's less support for government actions to curb pollution.

Although 59 percent say they favor tougher air pollution regulations for agriculture, support drops to 44 percent if the regulations would increase costs for valley businesses.

Sixty-six percent said they support federal air pollution regulations, but just 39 percent register support if the rules would hurt the local economy.

A Kern County lawmaker who is pushing legislation to crack down on pollution from farms and dairies said the poll supports the need for the bills.

"The fact is," said state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, "that valley residents now recognize air pollution and lung damage as one of the major issues they have to be concerned with."

The poll findings show that there's some gloom about the economy.

Only 35 percent rate the region's economy as excellent or good, a significant drop from 45 percent in 2002.

Nevertheless, 77 percent rate their communities as excellent or good places to live and 58 percent say the valley is headed in the right direction.

"People in the valley are very community-oriented," said Carol Whiteside, president of the Great Valley Center, "but there is a growing awareness of the regional challenges that require us to build consensus across neighborhoods, cities and counties."

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