401–410 of 471 posts
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BMI is known as a very bad measure
So what is a better measure ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index#Limitations
(however the statistics on BMI vs mortality as still completely valid)
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I think the particular bit about the subway may be informed by very recent news that the air pollution in the New York subway stations is far in excess of what anyone had inspected. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/10/subway-a... As for actual subway workers… I mean it’s not exactly a coal mine, but I would be pretty surprised if their mortality wasn’t at least somewhat measurably lower than, say, tha…
Just to point out how why this is a fairly nuanced topic, a shepherd may be breathing clean air but they're also exposed to UV radiation all day. They may have a higher morbidity due to increased skin cancer rates.
I figure I was getting much more sun exposure as a kid running around in t-shirt and shorts then the local shepherds did.
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Is there a fundamental reason why the subway must be like that? I assume it's not as bad in say Hong Kong? Copenhagen metro for example is automated and there's a wall and automatic doors separating the tracks from the platform. I assume it's quite clean.
Subways are dusty because they use mechanical brakes that produce metal dust particles. For $50 per carriage, dust collecting sponges, fans or filters could be fitted, but train companies don't care. By doing anything about the dust they might be opening themselves up to lawsuits claiming they didn't do enough about a risk they knew about... There are also political issues - often the train company bought the trains…
I'm surprised "having a bonfire" isn't on this list, but I'm afraid to see how detrimental it might be. The nostalgia factor is sort of wearing off now that I'm 40 and don't want my clothes to smell bad or have a low-key asthma attack. The last time I went camping in a campground and everyone had a fire going, the whole park was completely choked with smoke that it made going for a walk really crappy. It's such a wei…
Pretty close to being on the list. "Have a really smoky fire at home. Life cost: 1 day" Considering the close association of food, warmth, security and socialization with the habitual use of fire for at the very least several hundred thousand years of human history, is it really any surprise that some people still enjoy the practice? https://dynomight.net/air/#:~:text=Have%20a%20really,1%20day
This article seems to make fantastic jumps from the believable -- mortality from overall air pollution (e.g. in Delhi) to the frankly unbelievable -- your ultrasonic humidifier supposedly reducing your life by nearly an hour each night, or that a daily commute between Newark and NYC takes half a year off your life. According to this logic, anyone who works in the subway should be dying, what, 10 years earlier? Which…
As for humidifiers, specifically ultrasonic ones - we bought one for our baby, but immediately with it also the best water purifier we could find (Zero water) that produces demineralized water practically absent from other molecules than H2O. There is no dust the next morning on the floor (or anywhere), there is no buildup of calc in the machine. I do believe that breathing that fine dust isn't very healthy long term…
This is plain false.
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Subways are dusty because they use mechanical brakes that produce metal dust particles. For $50 per carriage, dust collecting sponges, fans or filters could be fitted, but train companies don't care. By doing anything about the dust they might be opening themselves up to lawsuits claiming they didn't do enough about a risk they knew about... There are also political issues - often the train company bought the trains…
You say “train companies” as if every major subway/metro outside of Japan wasn’t nationalized in the early 20th century.
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A lot of people don't know how to use engine braking, I guess teaching them that is going to significantly increased your brake pad life on existing vehicles in circulation. Remember there are 3 brakes in your car, handbrake, foot brake and engine braking.
I'm completely not a car mechanic, so the following is essentially a question phrased as a statement. But I'm a bit skeptical about this idea. I assume you mean the engine break in a manual tranmission car (AKA stick shift in the US). But that relies on your clutch, which is still a friction based mechanism. Admittedly if you're breaking you're probably going to change gear either way, but the amount of friction depe…
Engine braking happens because engines have very high internal resistance - with motorcycles for example, there's no parking brake, you just leave it in 1st gear and it will not roll. So when you're not on the throttle, the inertia of the wheels/drivetrain will keep the car moving and the engine RPMs from dropping to idle instantly, but over time the engine will drain that inertial energy and slow down the car.
Also, engine braking is pretty weak on modern manual cars AFAIK. At least in my Honda Civic it basically doesn't engine brake, compared to my motorcycle. The effect is there but very minor.
Two years ago, I participated in a rocis.org study cohort. It was very informative. Participants are given a collection of monitors (particulate, CO2, radon, and one other I can't remember). We are given three air particulate monitors. participants collect the data and send it back to rocis.org. Here were some of the main takeaways personally. Note that I live in Pittsburgh which doesn't have great air. A. The idea t…
Wow what’s the pm 2.5 in Pittsburgh? In montreal it is 40 or so, and I find with windows open the indoor level will be 4-13. Totally agreed about cooking. Surprising how much a tiny scree up can send rates skyrocketing to 300+.
Thank you for this extensive resource on air quality. Yes, it needs to get more attention as it is one of the main drivers of mortality of environmental risks. One thing one has to bear in mind is that often when you optmize your home for low PM (e.g. with air purifiers and fixing of air leackage) your CO2 will get very high causing headaches and reduce cognitive performance. So it always makes sense for indoor air q…
I see the aliexpress link to the PM sensor doesn't work (at least not in the US); where else do you recommend buying one?
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I have an AirVisual Pro, which is quite expensive, but my half finished air quality monitor project had been on the bench for much too long. I have windows open all the time, air conditioning on too often, and dehumidifiers and HEPA filters as well. It is not efficient or particularly environmentally friendly... but I want a CO2 level My next half baked idea is figuring out a way to have a sealed home and an applianc…
> and an appliance (or messy bench-top device) to remove CO2 from the room continuously and exhale outside There are these things called "plants"... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study