To consolidate, disseminate, and gather information concerning the 710 expansion into our San Rafael neighborhood and into our surrounding neighborhoods. If you have an item that you would like posted on this blog, please e-mail the item to Peggy Drouet at pdrouet@earthlink.net
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
How to Breathe Easy in Polluted Cities
Try these seven ways to lessen the burden on your lungs.
Residents wearing masks on a hazy day in Beijing, October 9, 2014.
Before leaving the house, residents of Delhi and Beijing are as likely to check the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI rating)
as the weather forecast. Once the level of pollutants reaches a
critical concentration—which varies by location—it’s no longer safe to
breathe outdoors.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) associates a numerical value of particulates with a color and an advisory warning. (AirNow)One quarter of the world’s population now breathes unsafe air, according to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The relationship between filthy air and poor health is frightening. Fine particulate matter,
which comes from fuel combustion (such as from vehicle exhausts or
coal-fired power plants), can easily penetrate our bloodstream and
contribute to cardiovascular and lung disease. Last year, the World Health Organization reported that ambient air pollution contributes to one in eight of all deaths—that equated to 7 million deaths in 2012 alone.
Citizens have begun fighting back against the growing danger, pushing governments to release pollution figures, buying air filtration products in vast quantities, and becoming involved in grassroots campaigns
to take back control of their environments. But there are also easy,
affordable things you can do right now. Try these easy ways to reduce
your exposure to bad air—in any city.
Download predictive outdoor pollution apps
The number of sites and apps that offer predictive outdoor air
quality reports is steadily growing. Last month, Microsoft launched an
app that provides air quality information for more than 200 cities in
China up to two days in advance. Your Weather
combines data with weather forecasts to help city dwellers make better
decisions about when and how to brave the air. In the U.S., the federal
government’s Airnow website and mobile app
offer a next-day AQI predictor. Earlier this year, to help residents
navigate polluted Delhi, the Indian government launched the mobile app SAFAR-Air, complete with next-day air forecasting.
Low-cost, high-accuracy sensors that measure air quality are a hot
new area of technology startups. At the SXSW festival this year,
Carnegie Mellon scientists unveiled their $200 Speck air pollution monitor, which can measure the concentration of fine pollutant particles in your home. In China, the $65 Laser Egg
reader begins shipping this week. “The results we see from our Laser
Egg are on par with professional equipment usually in the range of
thousands or tens of thousands of dollars,”developer Liam Bates told
Citylab.
Buy an air purifier—and keep it clean
Air purifiers are a staple in many urban homes. Although it might
seem counterintuitive, it’s a good idea to turn off your air purifiers
regularly to air out your home. Choose a day of low pollution and then
open the windows one room at a time for at least 10 minutes, before
sealing them shut and switching those purifiers back on. Doing so will
allow stale air from the previous day out and allow relatively clean air
back in.
If you’re in doubt of your purifier’s efficiency, start switching
your filters up more often than the instructions suggest. Bear in mind
that filters on air conditioning units may also become clogged more
quickly in a smoggy area.
Invest in wearable technology
Wearable pollution sensors allow you to monitor your personal
exposure. Inevitably, these kinds of sensors face a barrage of
difficulties when recording accurate data outdoors, since pollution
levels can change every second depending on external factors, such as
traffic and weather patterns. However, the creators of keychain-sized
gadget Clarity
are confident the idea will catch on and eventually expect crowdsourced
data from their product to help citizens gain a more complete picture
of environmental hazards.
Other similar devices already on the market, or slated to arrive soon, include the AirBeam, the palm-sized device in the video above, as well as the Lapka PEM and the TZOA sensor, both of which can stream data to the wearer’s smartphone.
Create less indoor pollution
When measuring your personal AQI, it’s worth remembering that the air
quality in your home sometimes bears no correlation to what is going
outside. Many factors can affect the quality of indoor air, from cooking
to burning incense. Also be sure to chuck major dust collectors, such
as old cushions and heavily upholstered furniture.
Wear a respirator
Smog masks are becoming cool—as CNN noted,
they even graced the runways at China Fashion Week last year. But in
order to fully gain the benefits, you’ll need to purchase an
air-purifying respirator, rather than a facial accessory made from
cloth—a common sight in cities. Proper respirator masks make a seal with the face and have a filter to prevent contaminated air entering your mouth or nose.
Exercise at off hours
The jury’s still out
as to whether the benefits of exercise outweigh the negative effects of
pollution. Either way, to avoid inhaling polluted air deep into your
lungs, experts suggest hitting the running track early in the morning or
later in the evening to avoid the most pollutant-heavy times of the
day.
