Air Pollution

I took the Mazda in for an oil change recently. We get the oil changed at the Mazda dealer, and it works pretty much just like it does at home: I take the car in, sit and read the newspaper, tell them go ahead and change the air filter "if it needs to be changed," read some more, pay the bill and go home.

And afterwards, just so you know they actually did change the air filter, the service department gives you the old filter to take home. And then, if you're curious about this sort of thing, you open the box and look at the air filter. And you are instantly amazed by how polluted Manila air is.


It's no surprise that Manila's air features more pollution than anywhere else I've ever lived. When driving towards Makati, it's often smoggy, sometimes so smoggy that you can't really see the skyscrapers looming in the distance. But when you actually see that pollution in your air filter, it's kind of sobering.