A Tutorial on Air Quality and How it Affects Asthma and Allergies

'We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need'?

- Lee Iacocca

As summer approaches, so do the days of air quality alerts in Nashville. And, so do the increased asthma exacerbations related to poor air quality.

Air pollution is created from a variety of sources but most are from the burning of fossil fuels in cars, power plants, houses, and industry.

Air pollution is made up of many different things: ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide, lead, toxins, stratospheric ozone depleters such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and other compounds that include chlorine or bromine and, lastly, greenhouse gasses - the most important of which is carbon dioxide.

Some of these pollutants can be organized by their size. For example, Particulate matter (PM) - essentially soot and dust particles smaller than the diameter of a human hair - are present in elevated concentrations on poor air quality days. Some of these particles are created from exhaust and some are created from the breakdown of tires as we drive. This division of particles into their various sizes is important because they help determine how far the particles can travel in the atmosphere and how easily they are inhaled into lungs. The finer the particles, the deeper the penetration into the lungs and therefore the more danger posed. 

According to the American Lung Association, approximately 50% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy ozone levels. Ozone poses another type of threat to the lungs as it creates inflammation in the airways. Evidence from observational studies 'strongly indicates that higher daily ozone concentrations are associated with increased asthma attacks, increased hospital admissions, increased daily mortality, and other markers of morbidity'. Ozone appears to make asthma symptoms worse and can increase sensitivity to asthma triggers.

What you may not know is that air pollution is also bad for allergies. During photosynthesis, plants convert light energy into stored chemical energy by consuming carbon dioxide and water. Essentially, plants need carbon dioxide to grow. The main human activity that emits carbon dioxide is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) for energy and transportation.

A very interesting study, completed by Paul Epstein from Harvard, showed that increased carbon dioxide accelerates and increases pollen production in ragweed. Based on this study, Epstein believes 'warming of the earth, and increased CO2 production, may mean more frequent and intense symptoms for the estimated 50 million Americans who suffer from allergies and the approximately 18 million with asthma, which is frequently triggered by allergens'.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1998, at least 5,438 people died of asthma in this country, and 423,000 were hospitalized for it. Having a personal goal of reducing air pollution could therefore reduce the risk of asthma and allergy exacerbations.

***

What can you do?

• Drive Wise & Use Public Transportation, Walk or Ride a Bike.
• Plan your trips. Save gasoline and reduce air pollution. 
• Keep tires properly inflated and aligned. 
• In the summertime, fill gas tank during cooler evening hours to cut down on evaporation. Avoid spilling gas and don't "top off" the tank. Replace gas tank cap tightly. 
• Avoid waiting in long drive-thru lines, for example, at fast-food restaurants or banks. Park your car and go in. 
• When possible, use public transportation, walk, or ride a bike. 
• Get regular engine tune ups and car maintenance checks (especially for the spark plugs). 

***

Shade Parade Nashville is most interested in creating a Nashville that is more walkable.  One benefit of increased walkability would be reduced air pollution in our area.

Sources:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html

http://ccair.org/facts-about-air-pollution/pollutants-a-health

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/carbon-closeup/

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/rpart.html

http://www.airnow.gov

http://www.lung.org/healthy-air/

Epstein, Paul. Production of allergenic pollen by ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is increased in CO2-enriched atmospheres. March 2002 Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology

How the Shape of Your City Affects You

According to David Engwicht, author of Street Reclaiming, a city is a place to 'maximize exchange opportunities and minimize travel'.  'Exchanges' may be 'goods, friendship, knowledge, culture, work, or education'.   

'We choose to live in cities because exchanges are the real stuff of life'.  

It is undeniably interesting to walk down a rich and lively sidewalk scene and be enmeshed in the random and spontaneous things to hear and witness. It is generative to be exposed to variety.  

Since some space in cities must be free for movement of goods and people, not all space can be devoted to strictly exchange opportunities.  Cities must have both:  exchange spaces and movement spaces.  'The more space a city devotes to movement, the more the exchange space becomes diluted and scattered'.  A good example of this is in the image above.  You can see that walking from A-Z in the top drawing would take less time compared to walking from A-Z in the bottom drawing.  'The more dilute and scattered the exchange opportunities, the more the city begins to lose the very thing that makes it a city:  a concentration of exchange opportunities.  What makes a city efficient, and an exciting place to be, is this diversity and density of potential exchanges'.  

Cities have, therefore made it practice to combine exchange opportunities and movement by creating dual purpose spaces. 

So, why have we allowed Nashville to become a place that is so overly devoted to a single mode of transportation - the car - at the expense of lost exchange opportunities?  As I have questioned before, do you get much joy from sitting alone in your car???

***

Shade Parade is for the building of high quality well designed sidewalks in Nashville.  

One concern I often hear is that this goal is going to be expensive.  And, the quotes are expensive for the projects we are working on (Bowling Av, then Woodmont, then Hillsboro Pk…)

But, isn't building more roads expensive, too?  Do we want, as a city, to devote more space to roads?  Knowing that building more space for vehicles equals less space for exchange.  In regards to cost, there could be economies of scale built in to refurbishing of roads to create sidewalks at the same time.  This could be a way to save as the equipment and workers are already in place. 

The focus on the car has turned the dual function of many streets in Nashville to a single function - that of movement (and high speed movement at that).  

      

'Corridors in a house, which can only be used for movement, are often referred to as wasted space.  They are considered a waste because what we value about a house is not the movement between rooms but the activities facilitated by the rooms'.

Sources:  Street Reclaiming  By David Engwicht

State of Tennessee REQUIRES that ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS in grades K-8 receive 90 minutes of “physical activity” each week

State of Tennessee REQUIRES that ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS in grades K-8 receive 90 minutes of “physical activity” each week

***

The Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness is working with Safe Routes to Schools to implement a pilot study to determine the work needed to help schools in Nashville establish coordinated, regular walking/biking to school. Schools that participate would be part of the first group recognized by the Governor as a Healthier TN Walking School with giveaways and plaques. Below is the criteria for schools to participate and be recognized:

To become a Healthier Tennessee Walking School, schools must do the following:

1. Establish a Safe Routes To School (SRTS) team. This team will plan and implement a regular (once a month) walking to school program. (A school with an active healthy school team that is willing to include this in their programming is a perfect fit)

2. An assessment of the surrounding area, 1-2 miles, of the school is completed and best routes for walking/biking are identified.

3. A plan identifying community partners and describing what form of SRTS will be used is created. (walking school bus, distant drop off locations, routes with chaperons walking, routes with chaperons positioned along the way, etc)

4. A plan to promote the events to students and parents is created.

5. A map is created and shared with stakeholders that identifies the routes that will be chaperoned and used for the monthly events.

6. Schools agree to count and record the number of students participating in active transportation.

At this point, public schools in Nashville are looking to only identify schools that are interested in implementing this sometime in Fall 2014. Please contact your principal if your school is interested in participating in this program.

***

In the last 40 years, the rates of students walking to school has dropped 30% according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Shade Parade Nashville is dedicated to increasing walkability in Nashville through sidewalk production.  Many parents cite safety issues as the #1 reason that they do not allow their children to walk to school.  Lack of sidewalks certainly adds an element of danger when walking to school.  

There are many benefits to the program described above which gets children out and walking - to be said - this is reason enough to undertake such an endeavor    We know that having 'eyes on the street' - pedestrians - makes streets safer.  Having children walking to school is good for the neighborhood - makes it more interesting and richer.  Having a 'walking school' in your neighborhood is also good for home values as many parents find it desirable to walk their children to school rather than queque up in their cars.

Public schools require a large amount of volunteer work.  Maybe you know a neighborhood school that could use a hand getting this project organized?  

Sources:  http://www.rwjf.org/en/research-publications/find-rwjf-research/2009/05/walking-and-biking-to-school---physical-activity-and-health-outc.html

Air Quality, Asthma and Allergies - Another Reason To Ask for Sidewalks in Your Neighborhood in Nashville

'We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need'?

Intuitively, we understand that air pollution is hazardous for our lungs.  

Air pollution is made up of many different things:  ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, lead, toxins, stratospheric ozone depleters such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and other compounds that include chlorine or bromine and, lastly, greenhouse gasses - the most important of which is carbon dioxide.

Some air pollutants can be organized by the size of its particulate matter.  Particulate matter (PM) essentially consists of soot and dust particles smaller than the diameter of a human hair and are present in elevated concentrations when people drive.  Some particles are created from exhaust and some are created from the breakdown of tires as we drive. This division of particles into their various sizes is important because they help determine how far the particles can travel in the atmosphere and how easily they are repairable into lungs. 

To clarify further - particulate matter is divided into two classifications:

• PM10, or coarse size particles, with a diameter of less than 10 microns

• PM2.5, or fine size particles, with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. These particles are less than 1/8th the diameter of a human hair and are easily inhaled deep into lungs

The finer the particles, the deeper the penetration into the lungs and therefore the more danger posed. The American Lung Association believes that PM2.5 represents the most serious threat to our health. 

In addition, as of 2002, according to the American Lung Association, approximately 50% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy ozone levels.  Ozone poses another type of threat to the lungs as it creates inflammation in the airways.  Evidence from observational studies strongly indicates that higher daily ozone concentrations are associated with increased asthma attacks, increased hospital admissions, increased daily mortality, and other markers of morbidity. The consistency and coherence of the evidence for effects upon asthmatics suggests that ozone can make asthma symptoms worse and can increase sensitivity to asthma triggers.

***

What you may not yet have linked together is that air pollution is also bad for your allergies.  

'Even a correct decision is wrong when it was taken too late'.

During photosynthesis, plants convert light energy into stored chemical energy by consuming carbon dioxide and water.    

Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In 2011, carbon dioxide accounted for about 84% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.  The main human activity that emits carbon dioxide is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) for energy and transportation.

'Associate Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School Paul Epstein, M.D., M.PH., completed a study on how increased carbon dioxide accelerates and increases pollen production in ragweed.

Based on this study, Epstein believes warming of the earth, and increased CO2 production, may mean more frequent and intense symptoms for the estimated 50 million Americans who suffer from allergies and the approximately 18 million with asthma, which is frequently triggered by allergens. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1998, at least 5,438 people died of asthma in this country, and 423,000 were hospitalized for it'.

'Management is nothing more than motivating other people'.


Shade Parade Nashville has the goal of increasing walkability in Nashville primarily through sidewalk production.  If our transportation choices in Nashville are restricted to vehicular traffic we may be adding to our already high rates of asthma and allergies in the region.

***

Another important reason to ask Nashville to increase well designed sidewalks!

Sources:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html

http://ccair.org/facts-about-air-pollution/pollutants-a-health

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/carbon-closeup/

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/rpart.html

http://www.airnow.gov

http://www.lung.org/healthy-air/

All orange quotes by Lee Iacocca

Update, Sidewalk Project #1, Bowling Av Nashville TN - Public Meeting Information

Preparation for the Public Meeting about Bowling Av's sidewalks being held April 23rd, 630p, at West End Middle School are underway.  The postcard invites are going out.  We have almost put 500 postcards into mailboxes around Bowling Av and have another 500 coming on Monday.

Email invitations to Council Members, the Mayor, representatives of interested non-profits and government organizations, schools, churches and synagogues have gone out.  We have 2 councilmen planning on coming.  Waiting to hear from many more.  We have 3 guest speakers lined up and are waiting to hear from a few more.

The program is going to last about 1 hour with time for questions/discussion at the end.

***

My 14 year old and some of her friends will provide informal baby sitting if you would like to bring your younger children but are afraid you may not be able to concentrate.  

We will also be providing light refreshments.  

If you have interest in helping, speaking or participating - please contact me through facebook or this blog.  Thank you to Carey, Debbi and Cathy for their help in handing out postcard invites!  Thank you, too, to the many who have provided such valuable advice.  

Most importantly --- Please plan to attend! We want to hear from you. It is going to be critical to impress upon our elected officials, Public Works, and others that we are a city that wants sidewalks, will use sidewalks, and are willing to work collaboratively to create well designed infrastructure so that Nashvillians can get out and WALK!

Glad it is Spring…

Glad the winter days are behind us…

Sidewalk Project #1 - Bowling Av, Update

Gave 5 minute speech last night at West End Middle School's PTO meeting to introduce our pilot project:  Sidewalk Project #1, Bowling Av.  Really nice reception, great questions and a very nice group of people.

Today, starting to put post card invites in mailboxes for the public meeting 4/23 at West End Middle School…this is a map of what we accomplished today! A big THANK YOU to Carey and Debbi for helping out with this work!