Urban Blog

Air pollution takes many different forms. The idea that there is “one kind” of air pollution is a dangerous one. For example, air pollution doesn’t just come from outside. In fact air pollution can come from the goods you put inside your home. Most homes contain a range of volatile organic compounds or VOCs that can damage health. Alarmingly, many VOCs are suspected carcinogens and can lead to leukemia with prolonged exposure. In short, air quality couldn’t be any more serious of an issue.

Don’t Let Bad Air Quality Impact Your Health

Sources of indoor air pollution often surprise many people. Indoor air pollution sources range from building materials to paint and even seemingly harmless furniture. A large percentage of modern furniture and even items such as kitchen cabinets are not exactly what they seem. Instead of being solid wood, many modern furniture offerings are in fact little more than sawdust and wood remnants held together with chemicals and glues.

The “cheap” furniture one finds at many big box retailers are actually of such low quality that it starts to fall apart within just a couple of years. The bigger problem, however, is the fact this “MDF” or particleboard furniture also degasses and will do so for years. In the process, harmful chemicals including formaldehyde are released into the air.

The situation with household furniture, such as soft chairs and couches, is no better. The stuffing material in most chairs and couches are derived from petroleum products, chemicals and very dangerous flame-retardants. Such furniture will often degas for years.

The Amazing World of Low VOC Products

All of this is a bit depressing, but there are steps you can take to avoid poor indoor air quality. At the top of the list is to use low VOC products. Paint can release a tremendous amount of VOCs and continue to do so for a long time. Most large paint companies and many smaller companies now offer low VOC paint. Then there are also “green paint options” that have very low VOC. (And no these paints are always the color green.) The bottom line is that low VOC options are now out there and you can find them without too much trouble.

Carpets and Floors

Want to finish your hardwood floors or install carpeting? Flooring finishes are usually little more than chemicals and carpet will degas for years. That “new house” smell you’ve probably noticed is, in fact, VOCs being released into the air from a range of new materials.

Floor finishing can be particularly hazardous when newly applied and should be avoided. It is no accident that many people who smell some floor finishing products compare the smell to paint thinner. The good news is that there are natural low VOC floor finishing options and low VOC carpeting options, such as wool carpet.

NASA Weighs in On Plants

Sometimes you can’t help what is in your home and removal is impractical. Luckily, there are steps you can take. An inexpensive and prudent step is to populate your home with plants. Plants, such as ferns and snake plants, are extremely good at removing a range of contaminants from the air. The best scores in the NASA clean air study went to peace lily and florist’s chrysanthemum’s which both removed benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene and ammonia, all of which are some of the most common indoor air pollutants.

In a NASA experiment, it was discovered that very common plants, such as ferns, worked remarkably well for reducing contaminants from the air. Snake plants are a very wise choice for anyone looking to improve the quality of his or her indoor air quality. The reason is that snake plants are very tough. These durable plants need virtually no love to thrive and are often used in many of most toxic indoor environments, such as newly constructed office spaces and shopping malls. Plants also boost one’s mood. It’s a win all the way around.

Finding a Great Air Purifier

In addition to plants, air purifiers can work extremely well for cleaning the air. Of course air purifiers come in all shapes, sizes, performance levels and prices. Finding the right one can be tricky and can also take a lot of research. Air purifiers that use ion technology should be avoided as some researchers worry that the technology might be hazardous to human health.

Low-end air purifiers, for example, those costing under $100 don’t usually perform very well. Consumer Reports has given good scores to Honeywell’s HPA300. While they have not yet reviewed the IQAir, this air filter has impressive capabilities and three layers of different filters including a hyper-HEPA filter. It is important to note that IQAir products are, however, far more expensive than most other air purifiers.

Easy Tricks to Improve Your Air Quality

There are many other steps one can take to improve indoor air quality. One of the best options is to frequently replace the filter in your home’s HVAC system and opt for a high quality filter. Your home’s HVAC filter is your first line of defense when it comes to clean air.

Another prudent move is to use a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter. These filters are designed to catch small particles and trap them. Periodically cleaning these filters every few months is a must in order to maintain optimal performance.

 
There are plenty of steps you can take to maintain air quality. Achieving great indoor air quality is a process. Don’t attempt to change everything at once. Instead, chip away at the problem of poor indoor air quality one bit at a time. While it make take some effort, great indoor air quality is invaluable for your health and has even been shown to help boost productivity.

You may be addicted to your smartphone. Perhaps you are even reading this article on your smartphone and telling yourself that you couldn’t possibly have a problem. Smartphone addiction is certainly common; after all, smartphones were custom made to be highly addictive! That is, of course, the bad news, but there is good news. There are lot of benefits to be had from putting your smartphone down and walking out of the room. (And, yes, you do have to leave your smartphone behind.)

Smartphone Liberation Benefit #1-See the World

Now by “see the world” we don’t mean that once you turn off your smartphone you will magically be able to travel to exotic locations. Sorry. You will, however, be able to finally see the world around you.

Are you one of those people who take a walk in the woods only to discover that the only time you look away from your smartphone is to take a picture of nature? Any tool used too often or for too long becomes a crutch. Smartphones are amazing tools and most of us are using them far too much. The result is that we are often failing to see the world around us.

Smartphone Liberation Benefit #2-Restored Vision

Smartphones and computer screens are giving your eyes a real beating, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You have the power to just walk away, especially after business hours. What you will discover once you stop using your smartphone, as often is that your smartphone really does take a lot out of your eyes. Most avid smartphone users don’t realize how tired their eyes really are until they’ve had a little time away from their device.

Smartphone Liberation Benefit #3-Better Sleep

Can turning off your smartphone improve your health? No doubt it is hard to exercise looking at one’s smartphone all the time, but the health improvements associated with turning off your smartphone actually go far deeper.

Recent studies have shown that the light emitted from smartphones can actually interfere with quality sleep. It gets worst. Do you sleep with your smartphone near your bed? Well, you may want to stop. Studies have shown that smartphone radiation may interfere with getting enough restful sleep.

Speaking of smartphones and sleep, studies show that excessive use of mobile devices can actually interfere with your ability to get a good night’s sleep. Those who look at a phone for more than 4 hours during a day find that it is 49% more likely that it will take them over an hour to fall asleep.

Smartphone Liberation Benefit #4-Protect Your Brain, Maybe

Another health issue with smartphones is that the radiation they produce may be harmful to human health. In the old days, parents worried about children watching too much television. But at least most of the time a television wasn’t strapped to the side of their heads!

Yes, the comparison is apples to oranges but if there are negative health consequences to smartphone and cellphone use, they could be serious due to the way that most people use them. Several countries, including Finland, have conducted their own studies into smartphones and cellphones and have concluded that there are reasons to be concerned.

So what should you do? The World Health Organization has listed smartphones and cellphones as a possible carcinogen. This is a controversial statement and it doesn’t mean that your smartphone will kill you, but it may mean you want to exercise some caution.

A good argument can be made for “playing it safe” until the medical community is speaking with a fairly uniform voice. Right now there are those in the medical community preaching caution and considering that there are other benefits to putting your smartphone down for a while it only makes sense to curb one’s use. Not using a smartphone doesn’t mean you can’t use a computer.

Smartphone Liberation Benefit #5-Actually Talk to People

Yes, it is a bit of a crazy idea but turning off your smartphone could help you spend more time talking to people. Want to make more friends in the real world? Ironically, turning off your phone may do the trick.

Talking to people, attending events or simply looking up from your smartphone might be a good first step. Virtual networking is great, but what about networking in the real world? Networking is one of the best ways to build your career and discover new opportunities. Social media and virtual network has its benefits but so does networking the old fashioned way. Besides talking to people will help you improve your “social game,” and that will certainly come in handy at some point.

Another big benefit is that you can spend more time talking to the people you care about. Your smartphone will evolve in just a few months, but what about your relationships with the people you care about?

Smartphones Are Great Tools Which Need to Be Turned Off Every Once and a While

If you are feeling socially isolated, think about turning off your smartphone and engaging more with the world around you. Technology can both connect and divide, and if you are using your smartphone too much, you may be cutting yourself off from the world around you. That means reducing your possibilities and maybe even your happiness. So the next time you are in the checkout line, the Dog Park or just about anywhere else, keep your smartphone off, your head up and see what happens. Life is happening all around you and not just on a screen.

If you are unsure as to how your actions impact your carbon footprint, you are not alone. Your carbon footprint is calculated as what you do that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse gases cause the planet to warm and are produced in a variety of ways. Any event that takes energy can produce them! That means that the manufactured goods you use play a big role in your carbon footprint. The more energy it takes to create a given object, the higher your carbon footprint may become.

Food production and what you do in your home can also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that you can minimize your personal impact on the planet. Luckily, there are many easy and painless steps you can take to make a difference.

1. Reconsider Meat Consumption

No one is stating that you have to become a vegan or vegetarian; however, it is important to note that eating meat creates far more greenhouse gases than not eating meat.

Vegetarians and vegans, for example, are responsible for producing far less greenhouse gas emissions than meat eaters. Simply skipping meat one or two days a week will help you lower your carbon footprint in an impressive fashion.

2. Buy Local Food and Goods

Locally produced food and goods have a huge edge when it comes to reducing one’s carbon footprint. The fact that locally produced goods does not have to be transported long distances means less energy is consumed in their transport. Produce grown a few miles away has a far lower carbon footprint than produce grown thousands of miles away. Buying local products is one of the simpler ways to lower your carbon footprint.

3. Reuse as Much as Possible

Manufacturing any good causes greenhouse gases to be released and that increases your carbon footprint. Reusing goods when possible, giving things you will not use to other people and recycling are all ways that you can lower your carbon footprint. Keeping a manufactured item in use means that you’ve kept a manufactured good from being purchased and, ultimately, maybe even from being made in the first place. While this is no doubt a simple step, it is also a very effective one in reducing your carbon footprint.

4. Adjusting Your Thermostat Up and Down

Setting your thermostat lower in winter and higher in the summer means that you will use less energy when heating and cooling your home. Reducing the amount of energy you use in your home is a fantastic way to reduce your carbon footprint. Energy production takes a tremendous amount of energy, and any time you can skip using energy, you are lowering your carbon footprint. Wearing an extra layer of clothing in the winter to stay warm and putting reflective material in your windows during the summer are two ways that you can save energy, money and lower your carbon footprint.

5. Public Transportation and Driving Fewer Miles

Another easy way to reduce your carbon footprint is to simply drive fewer hours a year. Using public transportation or carpooling even one day a week can help you lower your carbon footprint substantially. There are other benefits to using public transportation such as having more time to read.

When it comes to driving fewer miles, there is a clever trick that can make a substantial difference in your overall carbon footprint. If you can live closer to your work, then you instantly lower your carbon footprint. Keep this factor in mind when buying a new home or renting a new apartment. The simple selection of where you live can make a massive difference on your carbon footprint.

6. Only Fly When Necessary

If you can take a train, bus or drive your car instead of flying, strongly consider that option. You can’t beat flying when it comes to speed, but that speed comes a price.

Flying produces a lot of greenhouse gases. There are times when flying is literally the only way to go, but consider other options especially for shorter trips.

7. Power Strips and Your Carbon Footprint

There are many household items that use a great deal of energy even when they are not in use or appear to be off. Cable boxes often use as much energy as a refrigerator. Gaming consoles can also use a lot of energy even when they are off.

Try plugging in your cable box, video game consoles and other electronics into a power strip, and then turn that power strip off when those items are not in use. Not only does this tip help you lower your carbon footprint, but it should also help you save on your annual energy bill as well.

8. Steps Around the Home

Those seeking ways to lower one’s carbon footprint will discover that there are ample opportunities right at home. Installing new insulation and replacing old insulation is a perfect place to start as insulation reduces energy costs year round.

Installing solar can be an exceptional way to lower one’s carbon footprint. Soon solar energy will be both very easy and affordable. Adding weather-strips to doors and windows and caulking up leaky areas is another inexpensive way to lower your energy bill and your carbon footprint. Other simple steps, such as reading by a window instead of using a lamp and growing even a small amount of your food, all add up to a big difference.

Thinking about energy consumption and how to use less energy is the first and greatest step. Your carbon footprint isn’t set in stone. There are steps and they will make a difference.