Transportation
People Trying to Reduce Air Pollution Might Be Inhaling Even More Pollution
Bicyclists and public-bus commuters in San Diego are exposing themselves to a whole lot of crap in the air, according to new research.
Well, how's this for a kick in the Pearl Izumi thermal tights: Bicycling to work might help reduce your carbon footprint, but may also be terrible for your heath.
That's the frustrating word from a team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego, who are testing out the crowdsourcing of air-pollution monitoring. The researchers gave smartphones that sense pollution to 30 study participants, and then tracked their environmental data feeds for a month. The upshot was that the participants doing the most to reduce carbon emissions by cycling or riding the bus "were the people who experienced the highest levels of exposure to pollutants," according to lead investigator William Griswold.