4 ms·

I really think that 20-30 years from now, pollution will be linked as the cause of the new world of stupid and crazy. Microplastics, air pollution, water conta

by latch 6y ago

I really think that 20-30 years from now, pollution will be linked as the cause of the new world of stupid and crazy. Microplastics, air pollution, water contamination and poor diet are going to be seen the same way lead now is.

elicash 6y ago
Whenever air pollution comes up, I think about this study: https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-student-achievement https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-s... Basically, false alarm about a nearby gas leak led to putting air filters in classrooms. And "math scores went up by 0.20 standard deviations and English scores by 0.18 standard deviations, and the results hold up even when you control for 'detailed student demographics, including residential ZIP Code fixed effects that help control for a student’s exposure to pollution at home.'" This is "comparable in scale to some of the most optimistic studies on the potential benefits of smaller class size." This was an area that didn't have high levels of pollution, either. So, 1) in worse areas you'd expect bigger gains, and 2) even if your area isn't "bad" it's still having an impact. Pollution is invisibly doing weird things to our brains, especially children, without us realizing it. Even just taking the TEST in a filtered room raises scores!
- novok 6y ago
  How about pollen allergies? I estimate being under a minor allergic state that is hard to notice while taking your test doesn’t help anything.
- WorldMaker 6y ago
  Relatedly I often think about the Lead–Crime Hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis While tough to ever formally prove, the hypothesis posits that the major problems in the 70s/80s with urban crime that trailed off quickly in 90s was as much caused/worsened by leftover lead in urban environments from the mistakes of leaded gasoline as any other factor. Pollution has been a great "unseen" evil in a lot of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and its amazing given how many secondary effects we can point to that there's any debate at all remaining on efforts to fix pollution issues.
- ahaucnx 6y ago
  One should also not forget high CO2 developments in classrooms and its impact on test scores. We measured these in a school last year and it regularly went above 3000ppm [1]. Studies show cognitive impacts already at relatively low increases. So the atmospheric CO2 build up could also in the long term impact our cognitive performance. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/blog/2020/02/07/we-measured-the-co2-level-in-a-classrooms-this-is-what-we-found-out/ https://www.airgradient.com/blog/2020/02/07/we-measured-the-...
fiftyfifty 6y ago
Air pollution has already been linked to a number of ailments like heart disease, cancer, asthma, dementia/Alzheimer's, it's certainly not the only cause but it's contribution is significant. Health care costs are something that are rarely discussed when we talk about the costs of fossil fuels but they are significant and costly in both lives and dollars.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  The polluters aren't the ones paying the increased medical costs. That's the problem.
  - DataWorker 6y ago
    I’d argue that we are the polluters and we are the people who pay the medical costs. It’s up to us. And lobbying for more regulation is mostly cope; feels good but at most achieves maybe second order effects. The frog boil continues.

by latch 6y ago

elicash 6y ago

Whenever air pollution comes up, I think about this study: https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-student-achievement https://www.vox.com/2020/1/8/21051869/indoor-air-pollution-s... Basically, false alarm about a nearby gas leak led to putting air filters in classrooms. And "math scores went up by 0.20 standard deviations and English scores by 0.18 standard deviations, and the results hold up even when you control for 'detailed student demographics, including residential ZIP Code fixed effects that help control for a student’s exposure to pollution at home.'" This is "comparable in scale to some of the most optimistic studies on the potential benefits of smaller class size." This was an area that didn't have high levels of pollution, either. So, 1) in worse areas you'd expect bigger gains, and 2) even if your area isn't "bad" it's still having an impact. Pollution is invisibly doing weird things to our brains, especially children, without us realizing it. Even just taking the TEST in a filtered room raises scores!

novok 6y ago
How about pollen allergies? I estimate being under a minor allergic state that is hard to notice while taking your test doesn’t help anything.
WorldMaker 6y ago
Relatedly I often think about the Lead–Crime Hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis While tough to ever formally prove, the hypothesis posits that the major problems in the 70s/80s with urban crime that trailed off quickly in 90s was as much caused/worsened by leftover lead in urban environments from the mistakes of leaded gasoline as any other factor. Pollution has been a great "unseen" evil in a lot of the 19th and 20th Centuries, and its amazing given how many secondary effects we can point to that there's any debate at all remaining on efforts to fix pollution issues.
ahaucnx 6y ago
One should also not forget high CO2 developments in classrooms and its impact on test scores. We measured these in a school last year and it regularly went above 3000ppm [1]. Studies show cognitive impacts already at relatively low increases. So the atmospheric CO2 build up could also in the long term impact our cognitive performance. [1] https://www.airgradient.com/blog/2020/02/07/we-measured-the-co2-level-in-a-classrooms-this-is-what-we-found-out/ https://www.airgradient.com/blog/2020/02/07/we-measured-the-...

fiftyfifty 6y ago

Air pollution has already been linked to a number of ailments like heart disease, cancer, asthma, dementia/Alzheimer's, it's certainly not the only cause but it's contribution is significant. Health care costs are something that are rarely discussed when we talk about the costs of fossil fuels but they are significant and costly in both lives and dollars.

pmiller2 6y ago
The polluters aren't the ones paying the increased medical costs. That's the problem.
- DataWorker 6y ago
  I’d argue that we are the polluters and we are the people who pay the medical costs. It’s up to us. And lobbying for more regulation is mostly cope; feels good but at most achieves maybe second order effects. The frog boil continues.