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Category: Health

  • Understanding Purple Air Data

    Screen Shot 2018-11-15 at 4.10.29 PMOverdue edit on 8/6/2021: The general recommendation now seems to be that you select the US EPA conversion, not the LRAPA conversion.  See, e.g., this post, which also explains that the AirNow data, while perhaps more accurate than PurpleAir, can have a fairly significant delay, which (to my way of thinking) defeats the point of accuracy if conditions are changing rapidly, especially if they are changing for the worse.  You might think air quality is good when in fact it is not.

    Edit on 9/30/2020, since this old post continues to get a lot of attention: I recommend that you check out this article about reconciling the official government numbers and Purple Air's.  One exciting development is a "a pilot project of what some may consider to be the Holy Grail of air quality maps: combined readings taken from PurpleAir’s low-cost sensors and those from official government monitoring devices, all in a single map."  -RM

    A lot of people are now turning to PurpleAir.com for real-time air quality measurements.  But everyone should know that, in their default setting, they show higher PM2.5 readings than the government's sensors.  To obtain more realistic readings, use the box in the lower left hand corner of your web page to change the conversion from "none" to "LRAPA."  You can read more about the LRAPA settings here and here. 

    Please pass along this information.  Our situation is serious and people should be appropriately cautious (stay inside if possible, use filters if possible, obtain N95 masks from the Davis Fire Department), but no purpose is served by thinking that things are worse than they actually are.

    (Screen shot in this post taken at around 4:10 PM, Thursday, November 15).

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  • We must be the fire brigade.

    MondoviBy Joan Baez
    "Together we can create an unstoppable force for good"

    Last night, not a seat was empty in the UC Davis Mondavi Center as Joan Baez paused from singing to deliver this powerful exhortation.  Her music and her message were greeted with standing ovations. After the Show Baez gave the Davisite.org permission to share her words. 

    There is no such thing as a slow burn now. Only lightning fast destruction, and the residue of floating ash. The haze is real. It is ash filled smoke, blanketing a good portion of the state of California. This is our Armageddon. And, yet now it's we who must be the fire brigade. No one will appear on the clouds of glory to deliver us.

    We must be the fire brigade.

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  • Skewed Air Quality Logic

    MaskAir quality management district forecasts an AQI of 168*: UCD cancels classes

    Air quality management district forecasts an AQI of 174*: UCD holds classes

    Brought to you by the same data-free logic that supported Nishi and dismissed the testimony of an internationally recognized air quality expert.

     

    *AQI of 150-200: Unhealthy for all groups

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  • How will – and should – the recent Monsanto Roundup decision affect Davis?

    PesticideapplicationA few weeks ago, a jury awarded $289 million in damages to a California school groundskeeper, finding that his cancer was caused by on-the-job exposure to Monsanto’s pesticide Roundup, the main active ingredient of which is glyphosate.  How will this affect Davis?  How should it?

    Recall that, in a rather messy and prolonged process, the Davis City Council voted to “phase out” the use of glyphosate.  But where is the City in that process?  Do we even have an IPM specialist to replace Martin Guerena (who stepped down many months ago after being ill-treated by the City), i.e., someone who could oversee this phase out and report on it?  

    And does the phase out need to be accelerated?  Or should it occur immediately?

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  • Davis Tenants Clean & Green Bill of Rights – Message no. 1

    DSCN4761By Todd Edelman

    On the left in the photo is a new filter for our AC/furnace; on the right,  one about 60-75 days old including two weeks of wildfires. This is, of course, used inside the house, so everything here has come inside though we've had the doors and closed almost all of the time for the past couple of weeks.

    These are MERV 13 filters (which our landlord is paying for! Thanks!) Two technicians from Blake's said that a filter of this high value is suitable for our fairly modern HVAC. These are what's planned for use at Lincoln40. When they get this black and clogged up they also start to whistle a bit in the holder as air is trying to go around them, which at least raises energy costs.

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