Clearing the air on dust

Re “Snow turns to dust in the West,” May 24

The article says that excessive dust is contributing to the West’s water shortage by causing snow to melt too early and too quickly, and that “scientists say it is now more likely to be caused by off-road vehicles, mountain bikers or energy exploration.”

In the same issue of The Times, a travel story glorifies riding extra-powerful off-road vehicles extra-long distances in the California desert.

So The Times reveals a problem with terrible consequences, then tells readers how much fun it is to contribute to this problem?

Pete Aniello

Redlands

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There’s no question that recreation has environmental impacts, and it may be more precise to point to increasing numbers of all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts kicking up dust as they drive.

But bicycles themselves? Come on. The assertion that scientists are claiming that mountain bikes are contributing to dust storms in the same sentence as oil exploration and off-road motorized vehicles requires further explanation.

It made me wonder about other factors contributing to this process. Until the housing bubble burst, there were acres of foothill lands scraped clean for a Rocky Mountain version of suburban sprawl. I bet a good number of those developments are sitting denuded while investors wait for a better time to build.

Jim Hasenauer

Woodland Hills

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Saying mountain bikers are a cause of the dust blanketing the Rocky Mountains is akin to saying road bicyclists are a cause of the degradation of streets, highways and bridges.

Rick Margolin

Goleta

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I live in the desert and can say without a doubt -- it’s construction sites and off-roaders. You could hang around a popular mountain biking site here and never see a cloud of dust.

However, from that same place, looking out at the desert, on any weekend you can see huge clouds of dust being raised by off-roaders more than 10 miles away.

The other source is construction sites. The sites here are watered during the workweek, but during the weekends and evenings, the broken dirt dries out. It then blows all over during our many windy days.

Eric Wilson

Henderson, Nev.