As air pollution gets worse, a dystopian accessory is born--the Vogmask
gollly--running my errands in a vogmask. damn
As air pollution gets worse, a dystopian accessory is born
The air is getting more dangerous to breathe all over the world — and a suite of companies are hoping to capitalize with a new fashion item.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3/19/18262556/face-mask-air-filter-pollution-vogmask-airpop
By Rose Eveleth Mar 19, 2019, 7:00am EDT
Last fall, two different wildfires destroyed huge swaths of California. The Camp Fire in Northern California covered 153,336 acres, destroyed nearly 20,000 structures, and killed 85 people; it also left a shroud of smoke and ash hovering over the area. Public schools in five Bay Area counties were closed, and residents were warned to stay inside and protect their lungs from the dangerous air quality. Stores for miles around sold out of everything from surgical masks to the recommended N95 painter’s masks — the only kind that can effectively filter 95 percent of the tiny particles that do the most damage to your lungs.
Walking around the Bay Area in the weeks following the Camp Fire felt like living in a dystopian future — the sky a matte grey, the sun a red, alien-like orb, the streets empty save a handful of souls, nearly all wearing painter’s masks or bandannas or scarves over their mouths. Those two weeks might have been not just a dark blip, but rather a glimpse into our collective future. And there are entrepreneurs poised to capitalize on it. Because in the tomorrow that the Camp Fire portends, we’re all going to need a good face mask.
The global future of air quality doesn’t look so good. As humanity continues to make little progress fighting climate change, fires are expected to get more frequent. And in some cases, like in California, that new pollution is erasing decades of improving air quality.
The American Lung Association estimates that 133.9 million people in the United States are exposed to unhealthy air conditions every year. The World Health Organization estimates that 4.2 million people die every year from exposure to air pollution. A recent report from IQAir, a group that surveys air pollution worldwide, highlighted the cities with the worst pollution, many of which were located in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Most of this air pollution comes from industry and other emissions.
And then there’s the dust. All around the world, deserts are expanding. “The desert is creeping and nobody is noticing,” says Sumant Nigam, who recently published a study that found that the Sahara has expanded by 10 percent over the past century, largely due to climate change. “And eventually, it will swallow you.”
The Sahara isn’t the only desert that’s been creeping. The Gobi Desert in China has been expanding by almost 10 miles every year. The Kalahari Desert in southern Africa is growing, as is the Maowusu Desert in China, and the Great Sandy Desert in Australia. The southwestern US is seeing drier conditions and a creeping desert landscape. And climate models suggest that at our current rate of climate change, deserts could expand by 34 percent globally. That’s 5.2 million square miles. .............................
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sLJITzykQpnA4R4pIKpTiq3iciM=/0x0:5629x3726/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:5629x3726):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/15959137/2018_07_16_16.57.34_1.jpg
A woman in a printed blue Vogmask.
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vSm6U4jt-NEqX62-8Bl4kK6En8k=/0x0:4032x2268/1570x883/filters:focal(1694x812:2338x1456):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63256252/Air_Masks_2.0.png
= new reply since forum marked as read
and more. The 21st is a hellova century.
