3 ms·

> and wonder what the cost of all of this will be Likely the same extended lifespan that's been prevalent in Japan over the past century of smoking, diesel and

> and wonder what the cost of all of this will be Likely the same extended lifespan that's been prevalent in Japan over the past century of smoking, diesel and construction (along with the occasional nuclear catastrophe). Humans are apparently more ruggedized than they look on paper.

darkteflon 3y ago
And luckily, the only relevant measure of quality of life is the number of years lived, isn’t it.
- pessimizer 3y ago
  Sarcasm isn't a cost.
pdimitar 3y ago
You are just one sentence away from saying "human quality of life doesn't matter, we must think of the economy". Shortness of breath is something doctors report as a more and more common symptom of city dwellers. Not reported on the news because nobody -- apparently you included -- cares, but I've been to doctors lately, and they complained that the lung and heart doctors are overbooked lately while the others have a normal load.
- kqr 3y ago
  This could also be because people don't go out as much - perhaps for fear of pollution. Generally, it takes a lot of pollution to counter the positive health effects of active commuting. It was a while since I did the research, but someone estimated that you need to cycle for more than sixteen hours per day for the pollution to outweigh the cardio benefits in the 90th percentile of cities ordered by pollution. There was no city for which any mount of cycling would have made you worse off. Granted, walking is probably slightly lower in intensity, but still.
  - pdimitar 3y ago
    Sure, that might be a factor but I honestly have no clue where to get out. Me and my wife just always land in the local restaurant which is 10-15 minutes away because there's literally nothing walkable in 30 mins foot radius. So yeah we gave up and just go eat out. :| So not only is the air bad, the walkable places are few and far between, strongly discouraging people to even go where the better air is or, as you said, just have the cardio from walking/cycling to improve your health.
  - aziaziazi 3y ago
    Any chance you remember the source of this estimation ? It’s been 15 years I commute daily by bike and worry about the side effect on my lungs… sometimes the road stinks so much, especially when too much trafic jam. Trying to slow my pace to breathe « less deep » but not a fun things to do.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- noduerme 3y ago
  Perhaps chronic illness is more prevalent now because in previous times you would have just died from those conditions. Anyway, if you're living 20 years longer on average than your grandparents, it stands to reason that your health is better for at least some of those years, since you're not dead.

darkteflon 3y ago

And luckily, the only relevant measure of quality of life is the number of years lived, isn’t it.

pessimizer 3y ago
Sarcasm isn't a cost.

pdimitar 3y ago

You are just one sentence away from saying "human quality of life doesn't matter, we must think of the economy". Shortness of breath is something doctors report as a more and more common symptom of city dwellers. Not reported on the news because nobody -- apparently you included -- cares, but I've been to doctors lately, and they complained that the lung and heart doctors are overbooked lately while the others have a normal load.

kqr 3y ago
This could also be because people don't go out as much - perhaps for fear of pollution. Generally, it takes a lot of pollution to counter the positive health effects of active commuting. It was a while since I did the research, but someone estimated that you need to cycle for more than sixteen hours per day for the pollution to outweigh the cardio benefits in the 90th percentile of cities ordered by pollution. There was no city for which any mount of cycling would have made you worse off. Granted, walking is probably slightly lower in intensity, but still.
- pdimitar 3y ago
  Sure, that might be a factor but I honestly have no clue where to get out. Me and my wife just always land in the local restaurant which is 10-15 minutes away because there's literally nothing walkable in 30 mins foot radius. So yeah we gave up and just go eat out. :| So not only is the air bad, the walkable places are few and far between, strongly discouraging people to even go where the better air is or, as you said, just have the cardio from walking/cycling to improve your health.
- aziaziazi 3y ago
  Any chance you remember the source of this estimation ? It’s been 15 years I commute daily by bike and worry about the side effect on my lungs… sometimes the road stinks so much, especially when too much trafic jam. Trying to slow my pace to breathe « less deep » but not a fun things to do.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
noduerme 3y ago
Perhaps chronic illness is more prevalent now because in previous times you would have just died from those conditions. Anyway, if you're living 20 years longer on average than your grandparents, it stands to reason that your health is better for at least some of those years, since you're not dead.