Each year, I look forward to opportunities to be outside in the summer - mowing the lawn, bicycling, gardening, and my beloved afternoon run - but this year I may rethink some of those activities. This article by Gina Carroll from examiner.com equates a daily run in Houston to be as bad for health as smoking a pack of cigarettes. The cause for concern about air pollution is currently heightened, due to power failure at some of our nation's largest refineries in Texas City.
Residents in Texas City are essentially being quarantined by "shelter-in-place" advisories to stay indoors with no windows. Advisories are issued when hazardous materials are suspected to have been released into the atmosphere. The third largest refinery in the nation, run by BP, was the first to be left without power. I know a graduate student in Geophysics at Texas Tech University coming to intern with "biggest polluter," as he put it, this summer. Perhaps his description isn't too far from false.
Thankfully, a pair of graduate students from NYU - Nien Lam and Sue Ngo - are designing some fashionable clothing pieces to alert the wearer to increased carbon monoxide. Check out Nien's blog for more information about their project.
warning signs from Susan Ngo on Vimeo.
Will you think twice before heading outside this summer?
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