Pollution: Any solutions for cyclists to minimize impact? Any studies?
 

I have to say I'm a little worried about the impact the car pollution has had over the years on my body (in particular the diesel exhaust) since I (and all of us) are riding on roads frequented by cars.

Is there anything we can do as cyclists to minimize the impact? To protect against breathing this stuff in? I mean wearing a gas mask seems extreme first of all (and would scare the hell out of everyone :D ) and would likely cause suffocation. Is there nothing we can do?

And does anyone know of any studies into this? Are the incidences of cancer or types of cancer higher in road cyclists than mountain bikers?

I bought a mask with an air filter in it that's designed for outside activity in cities like LA. It looks more like a surgeon's mask mixed with the aesthetics of a BMX helmet. But in the end, I never wear it.

1.) It's creepy for me and everyone around me.
2.) It doesn't seal well and therefore isn't even working.

I wonder also, though, about what exposure is like. I've heard it said that pollution levels in cars on the road is a certain number of times higher than the surrounding air. The lesson from that statistic is roll your windows down. But it doesn't stink from exhaust in cars so I don't know if that's a skewed statistic.

The original research paper was from the World Health Organisation, IIRC.

Brit. Med. Assoc paper, Cycling & Health, showed that regular cyclists (as little as 4 miles/day increased their chances of living longer by 20:1 over slight increase in risk of early death from road accident.

Also, diesel particles to small to be stopped by cycle masks.

Good post. I got acute bronchitis when I first started commuting. The day I felt the tickle in my throat I remember having to breathe really heavy fumes.

Want to know the real solution to most of our problems - Biodiesel. The fumes are actually BENEFICIAL to the environment. Diesel engines run smoother and quieter on biodiesel as it has more lubricity. ....AND...American farmers would have to be put back to work in droves to grow the necessary resources to make this stuff. Do you really think we'd give a rat5 a55 about the middle east if our main source of fuel was grown in our own backyard...but I digress.

The only solution:

Stop everyone u know using their car and if they're too lazy to get their fat !@& up and ride to do some exercise, make them take the bus or subway or whathever that wont poison us.

Save yourself, save the environment. Save the World.

vitamin c (counteracts air pollution)

I know, but in the meantime, that ain't gonna happen. So what do WE do to protect ourselves? Why haven't any companies tried to make gas masks that help you breath (to counteract suffocation) and look less cary (more like the helmets or BMX stuff)? Is it possible? Would any of us wear them? I mean we don't care that people think our bike shorts look dorky.

While I understand that the benefits of the cardiovascular health outweighs the detriments of pollution impact RELATIVE to the lifespan/style of a couch potato, it's still a loss of health for us. I don't care that I'll live longer than a couch potato, if I get some lung disease (even if mild like the one mentioned by Doggus) or cancer, I'm NOT happy.

I think the increased blood pressure as of a result of worrying about it is worse for your health than the pollution itself.

That's my theory, at least, because I don't want to worry about it.

As noted above, pollution levels are actually higher inside cars than out where you're cycling. Much higher -- http://www.things.org/~jym/greenpeac...side-cars.html

I know that doesn't seem true, but in fact it is. So if you're going to get a Darth Vader breathing mask, wear it when you drive, because that's when you're sucking in the nasties. Better yet would be to stop driving altogether....

who cares we gotta die of something and cycling helps cure most things!

AND ALSO PREVENTS US FROM DYING OF SCURVY

Two great reasons to eat vitamin C!

As a side note, it is already happening. Biodiesel is currently in production, it's just that fuel prices are still not high enough to cause largess fuel companies to take any notice. The only thing holding back biodiesel is the enourmous cost of building refineries for it. Once that step is overcome...watch out for those soybean/corn/etc trucks hauling raw fuel to the refineries for processing. oh...and so sorry to the middle east..back to the stone ages for J0000!!!

I think it's great that people including the above poster are addressing the problems with our environment but remarks like this just makes people roll there eyes. You are either very young or live in a urban area and are not aware of how the majority of people in North America live, work and rase their families.

I beleive Minnesota will be requiring gas stations that sell diesel fuels in 2006 to sell only Bio-Diesel fuels. No more straight diesel.

My concern with bio-desiel is the energy required for the Ag end of this. Aren't most monocropped fields heavily fertilized, and mechanized? Can a gallon of biodiesel be made for less energy than what it puts out?



Monocropping the US so we can drive more? Scary.

Am I wrong? Enlighten me.

many have questioned the actual benefits of consuming Vitamin C...Keep that in mind

Great point bmike, I'd be interested in how many gallons of diesel it take per acre to plant, fertilize, cultivate and harvest the soybeans

I think any solution where we think we've found a silver bullet is a poor one. I have a bit of the same problem with wind power... imagine enough wind turbines to fuel all the power we use... (imagine enough wind turbines to power all the power I use!)

But maybe, if we monocrop soy, we can put windmills in all those fields.

We may find our way to be slightly less dependent on foreign oil - but imagine when mother nature decides its time to feast on all that monocrop!


I think we need to ask ourselves why we need to move around so much... and if we decide that we do need to move around alot - then we should start designing our world for more effective transport.

Perhaps the best solution to avoid breathing in smog is to live in an area where there's a constant breeze. I live in LA, which is known for its bad air, but I'm close enough to the ocean to feel a constant breeze, which sweeps the bad air further inland.

I know how bad it is inland, where I went to high school. Driving east along Interstate 10, you can literally see it coming in from the west and then getting trapped as you drive over the hills near Cal Poly Pomona. It's a virtual canyon of smog as LA air, blown in from the ocean, collides with the industrial and commuter smog already trapped there.

The Inland Empire, 50 miles east of LA, is either a pollution scientist's nightmare or playground.

You also have to consider that when you are cycling you are taking in a lot more air than just sitting in a car. So even if the air is less polluted outside than inside a car, the extra amount of that pollution you are taking in from breathing hevily probably evens out the pollution level.

Routing. I've got my route to work routed so I cut through as many suburbs as possible, thereby reducing the amount of crap I breathe in. It makes a HUGE difference. At my last job, I'd always hit one of the cities main thoroughfares right at rush hour, and it would invariably make me feel as if I'd smoked two packs. Seriously, your route makes a difference, and I don't have to deal with much traffic, either.

How about drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge like we should or how about Nuclear Energy??? But I digress.

Ralph

When was the last time the enviromental's allowed us to build a refinery?

Ralph

Who is this really, Stalin or DocRay?