Recently in The Week magazine there were two different articles two weeks apart about air pollution due to car exhaust pollutants called nanoparticles which have been linked to heart and lung disesase. I was surprised and hope things are different in the US but maybe not.
The first study was by researchers in Surrey, England. Sounds like a pretty civilized and forward thinking part of the world. Surely their cars are properly equipped to protect the public from pollutants. The researchers analysed the driver's exposure all along their route in their daily commute. Drivers were exposed to 29 times more pollutants when stopped at red lights than when their car was moving. The conclusion or solution was that one should keep their windows closed and not pull up close to the car in front of you which is emitting the hazardous fumes. Pedestrians shoould be aware of the exposure they receive when at such intersections. One suggestion was to change your route to avoid busy intersections. No mention was made of bicyclists but they must really be at risk.
The second study was in Barcelona, Spain and was reported in The Week separately. Researchers tracked the developmental progress of over 2000 school children between the ages of 7 and 10 years old. The chldren were distributed at 39 different schools in the city. They learned that children who attended schools near congested roads, where air pollution was measurably higher. developed cognitive skills at slower rates than children who were exposed to less pollutants. For working memory, such as being able to recall items on a list, chldren exposed to greater polluted air improved their memory score by 7.4%, while children breathing cleaner air improved by 11.5%. It doesn't sound like much but which group would you want your child in? Their solution? Install particle filters on school buses and keep windows on the road side of the buildings closed. Ideally traffic in and around schools should be kept to a minimum.
Are things better in this country? Are the emission controls that our auto manufacturers implement mote strict? Maybe in California. All over? I don't know. Does being in an air conditioned school help? I would think so. Of course that does not change the exposure at the stop lights. Most, maybe all, American cars are now equipped with air conditioning but that really doesn't keep the bad air out of your car. There's that little button you can push to recirculate air or bring in outside air but I am never sure which is which when you push it.
Neither article described, in lay terms, the state of pollution in the cities that were studied. I'm just hoping that all the fuss raised by the EPA over the last 20-25 years has actually worked for the good and our intersections and especially our schools are swathed in cleaner air than in Surrey and Barcelona...not wishing them ill. I wonder if Englamd and Spain have crusaders who hold the government accountable for things like air pollution. I hope so.
The first study was by researchers in Surrey, England. Sounds like a pretty civilized and forward thinking part of the world. Surely their cars are properly equipped to protect the public from pollutants. The researchers analysed the driver's exposure all along their route in their daily commute. Drivers were exposed to 29 times more pollutants when stopped at red lights than when their car was moving. The conclusion or solution was that one should keep their windows closed and not pull up close to the car in front of you which is emitting the hazardous fumes. Pedestrians shoould be aware of the exposure they receive when at such intersections. One suggestion was to change your route to avoid busy intersections. No mention was made of bicyclists but they must really be at risk.
The second study was in Barcelona, Spain and was reported in The Week separately. Researchers tracked the developmental progress of over 2000 school children between the ages of 7 and 10 years old. The chldren were distributed at 39 different schools in the city. They learned that children who attended schools near congested roads, where air pollution was measurably higher. developed cognitive skills at slower rates than children who were exposed to less pollutants. For working memory, such as being able to recall items on a list, chldren exposed to greater polluted air improved their memory score by 7.4%, while children breathing cleaner air improved by 11.5%. It doesn't sound like much but which group would you want your child in? Their solution? Install particle filters on school buses and keep windows on the road side of the buildings closed. Ideally traffic in and around schools should be kept to a minimum.
Are things better in this country? Are the emission controls that our auto manufacturers implement mote strict? Maybe in California. All over? I don't know. Does being in an air conditioned school help? I would think so. Of course that does not change the exposure at the stop lights. Most, maybe all, American cars are now equipped with air conditioning but that really doesn't keep the bad air out of your car. There's that little button you can push to recirculate air or bring in outside air but I am never sure which is which when you push it.
Neither article described, in lay terms, the state of pollution in the cities that were studied. I'm just hoping that all the fuss raised by the EPA over the last 20-25 years has actually worked for the good and our intersections and especially our schools are swathed in cleaner air than in Surrey and Barcelona...not wishing them ill. I wonder if Englamd and Spain have crusaders who hold the government accountable for things like air pollution. I hope so.
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