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I hope pollution levels are low in Boston because making a physical effort while breathing polluted air (= in a city with a lot of cars at rush hours) is not th

I hope pollution levels are low in Boston because making a physical effort while breathing polluted air (= in a city with a lot of cars at rush hours) is not the best for your health.

jrockway 13y ago
Heart disease kills many more Americans than pollution. Even after factoring in the additional pollution exposure and traffic accident risk, cycling is still a net win: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ (And, of course, the more people cycling, the more drivers look out for cyclists. And there are less cars!)
- Brakenshire 13y ago
  Interesting study. Just as a slight criticism of your wording, although I don't think this applies to the study- a lot of deaths from heart disease are actually caused by air pollution. Inhalation of particulate matter is implicated in tens of thousands of deaths a year. Even though exercise outweighs inhalation of fumes, air pollution is a serious issue, and many lives could be saved by its reduction. Hopefully that will be an extra benefit of electric and hybrid cars in cities.
mkoryak 13y ago
sitting on your butt as you drive, or standing in a crowded train car full of diseases is probably worse for your health
- Fuxy 13y ago
  What are you talking about it keeps your immune system prepared :P
  - mkoryak 13y ago
    I have thought about this a lot - I biked to every day this winter, and only took the train wearing a surgical mask a few dozen times when I couldn't bike. I didn't get sick this winter like I usually do. I probably need to bike for the next 9 winters though before I can really attribute not getting sick to not taking the T and exercising.
luch 13y ago
As a bike commuter on a major city recently hit by a peak of air pollution (Paris), I've looked around for infos, and it's seems cyclists are less exposed to air pollution than motorists or even pedestrians. Sources : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2014/feb/20/air-pollution-cyclists-bike-blog http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2014/feb/20.... http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2014/03/city-cycling-healthful-or-hazardous-health http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2014/03/city-cycling-...

I hope pollution levels are low in Boston because making a physical effort while breathing polluted air (= in a city with a lot of cars at rush hours) is not the best for your health.

jrockway 13y ago

Heart disease kills many more Americans than pollution. Even after factoring in the additional pollution exposure and traffic accident risk, cycling is still a net win: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ (And, of course, the more people cycling, the more drivers look out for cyclists. And there are less cars!)

Brakenshire 13y ago
Interesting study. Just as a slight criticism of your wording, although I don't think this applies to the study- a lot of deaths from heart disease are actually caused by air pollution. Inhalation of particulate matter is implicated in tens of thousands of deaths a year. Even though exercise outweighs inhalation of fumes, air pollution is a serious issue, and many lives could be saved by its reduction. Hopefully that will be an extra benefit of electric and hybrid cars in cities.

mkoryak 13y ago

sitting on your butt as you drive, or standing in a crowded train car full of diseases is probably worse for your health

Fuxy 13y ago
What are you talking about it keeps your immune system prepared :P
- mkoryak 13y ago
  I have thought about this a lot - I biked to every day this winter, and only took the train wearing a surgical mask a few dozen times when I couldn't bike. I didn't get sick this winter like I usually do. I probably need to bike for the next 9 winters though before I can really attribute not getting sick to not taking the T and exercising.

luch 13y ago

As a bike commuter on a major city recently hit by a peak of air pollution (Paris), I've looked around for infos, and it's seems cyclists are less exposed to air pollution than motorists or even pedestrians. Sources : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2014/feb/20/air-pollution-cyclists-bike-blog http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2014/feb/20.... http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2014/03/city-cycling-healthful-or-hazardous-health http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2014/03/city-cycling-...