15 votes

The West isn’t ready for the long-term health impacts of wildfire smoke

5 comments

  1. [5]
    Douglas
    Link
    I had no idea how bad the air quality was until some of the wildfires in Oregon last year (and the year before last, etc.); I remember getting an alert from local news sources about it being...

    I had no idea how bad the air quality was until some of the wildfires in Oregon last year (and the year before last, etc.); I remember getting an alert from local news sources about it being terrible and to try and limit your time outdoors. Then, several months after the wildfires had ended, I'd just kind of habitually kept checking the air quality and saw that it actually dipped into yellow/red, regardless of whether there had been wildfires or not. It's just often just kind of... shitty.

    Since I want to keep walking to work, I just started wearing an air filter mask anytime the level was concerning. It's not very fashionable, and you get looks, but... whatever. I'm a married man so I don't really care how I look, and I just wanna value my health, and I hope others follow suit. If that means wearing an unfashionable air filter mask, so be it.

    6 votes
    1. [2]
      monarda
      Link Parent
      What mask are you using, and are you using an air purifier at home? Last year I stopped cycling during the worst of it but still spent most of the time with a sore throat. There were no masks to...

      What mask are you using, and are you using an air purifier at home? Last year I stopped cycling during the worst of it but still spent most of the time with a sore throat. There were no masks to be had by that time.

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. monarda
          Link Parent
          Just bought some, thanks!

          N95 masks

          Just bought some, thanks!

    2. alyaza
      Link Parent
      colorado has generally been fortunate to avoid intensely bad fires the past few years (and the resulting awful air quality) after a series of bad fire years and has mostly just been stupidly...

      colorado has generally been fortunate to avoid intensely bad fires the past few years (and the resulting awful air quality) after a series of bad fire years and has mostly just been stupidly fucking hot. really not looking forward to the next series of wildfires, though, because they're getting increasingly bad and generally coming as a part of increasingly hot temperatures across the board.

      1 vote
    3. EggplantEmoji
      Link Parent
      I live in Washington state and things were similar there last summer. I didn't have a car or bike at the time so I was walking everywhere, it was rough with all the fires. There was one time where...

      I live in Washington state and things were similar there last summer. I didn't have a car or bike at the time so I was walking everywhere, it was rough with all the fires. There was one time where after a fairly short walk I was having having trouble breathing. I feel like this is a big issue on the West coast and hasn't been taken seriously enough yet.

      1 vote