The Air We Breathe
Air Quality Panel Discussion
Recently I attended a panel discussion with air quality experts to discuss what impacts San Francisco’s air quality, how health and wellness are impacted, and what residents can do about it at Dyson in San Francisco.
The panel of air quality and health experts included: Jeff Blair, CEO and Cofounder of AethLabs; Christine Wiedinmyer, Associate Director of Science at Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder; Joe Holder, Health and Wellness Advocate and Nike Global Master Trainer; and Audrey Abadilla, Manager, Advocacy and Community Impact at Breathe California. The panel was moderated by Jessica Le Dinh, Category Intelligence Engineer at Dyson.
Below I share highlights from their discussion —what impacts indoor and outdoor air quality, how health is effected, how air quality is truly a health equity issue, and how we as individuals and society can create positive change:
Outdoor Air Quality
Jessica started the conversation by sharing how incredibly passionate she is about improving air quality indoors and outdoors for people all over the world. She shared that in March of this year, Dyson partnered with King’s College in London to create a backpack fitted with an air quality sensor for a study looking into the pollution children are exposed to on their commute to school. Her team at Dyson are working on many initiatives intended to better their understanding of poor air quality.
Jessica explained how last year California’s Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Unfortunately these wildfires are predicted to be the new ‘normal’ due to climate change — and outdoor air quality really affects indoor air quality. “Wildfires across the Western U.S. will only continue to worsen and fire season will last longer,” Christine stated.
Jeff shared that he took measurements of his indoor air quality and the outdoor air quality in San Francisco during the Camp Fire. “Both indoor and outdoor air quality levels were almost the same,” he said. He says we will soon commonly see air quality and heat shelters.
Audrey stated that human activity is the culprit of poor air quality. “When you combine 40 million Californian’s each contributing a little pollution, it really adds up. As an individual, you can do little things every day to make a difference,” she said.
Indoor Air Quality
To prepare for disastrous events like wildfires that negatively impact indoor quality — keep a ‘fire kit’ in your home. “Be prepared like you would for an Earthquake. You should have an Earthquake kit and a fire kit. Damp towels under doors to seal air flow. Don’t exercise during a wildfire. Make sure you understand the mask you’re buying (N95 minimum). Make sure you shave your beard,” Jeff strongly advised.
Besides being prepared for air quality emergencies, there are a few other recommendations for improving and maintaining indoor air quality. Jeff explained that dry cleaning is extremely harmful to indoor air quality and brings nasty pollutants into your home. He also suggested getting a hood for your stove and having good ventilation when cooking.
Christine and Audrey advised using non-toxic cleaning products that include vinegar and baking soda. “Anything you can smell is being volatilized and is going into your air. Open your windows when you’re cleaning. Buy more natural, simple cleaning products,” Christine shared.
Air Quality Effects On Health Around The World
Air quality and pollution is a health equity issue according to Audrey. “The wealthy are able to live in places with great air quality. Lower socioeconomic status people are suffering. It’s systematic oppression. Less educated and wealthy people are the people impacted. We need to hold our politicians accountable,” she explained.
Politicians around the world are currently rolling back healthy city air quality initiatives. “Healthy air quality is a basic human right. It’s crazy we have to convince people that saving 7 million lives is worth it and the right thing to do,” Joe said.
Something as simple as planting trees can vastly improve air quality for people who live in cities. Christine mentioned that trees absorb air pollutants and cool temperatures. “There are studies showing greener cities have less mental health issues,” she said.
Breathing poor quality air has huge costs on mental and physical health. It can be the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and leads to lung disease according to Christine. Breathing poor quality air leads to mental health issues such as dementia and autism and low birth rates.
Joe shared a story about a 12-year-old girl that recently died in London because of her asthma due to air pollution. He wants better public policies, and believes that’s the only way air quality can significantly improve for our planet. “Companies need to be held to higher standards. This needs to be a global and local community effort. Where I travel around the world, people really don’t understand the problem. In Beijing, once air quality was improved — birth rates increased. There needs to be a conscious capitalism uprise,” he implored.
