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The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
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NEW YORK – Even by this city's standards, the Garment District is an imposing place to ride a bike.
A never-ending parade of delivery trucks rumbles along 8th Avenue between 34th and 42nd streets, leaving a wake of gritty exhaust for cyclists to feel, smell and breathe.
After riding in the Garment District, Robert "Rocket" Ruiz, a 13-year veteran of the bike messenger business, would often look into the bathroom mirror and see his face covered in grime.
"I remember having to wash my face three or four times a day," said Ruiz, now the head dispatcher for Quik Trak Messenger Service. "There's nothing but tar and smoke on your face." Ruiz, a star on the Travel Channel's bike messenger show "Triple Rush," said he once had to miss a day of work to see a doctor because of exhaust burning his eyes.
Pedaling behind pollutant-spewing cars and trucks may not seem as scary as being hit by one, but scientists say it can pose invisible dangers.
Now, for the first time, cycling in heavy traffic has been linked to a heart health risk, Canadian researchers reported last month. A new study found cyclists in Ottawa, Ontario, had heart irregularities in the hours after their exposure to a variety of air pollutants on busy roads.
"Our findings suggest that short-term exposure to traffic may have a significant impact on cardiac autonomic function in healthy adults," the scientists from Health Canada, Environment Canada and the University of Ottawa wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
The study does not suggest that bikers would be better off driving, experts say. Rather, the findings intensify the scrutiny on cyclists' pollution exposure, and point to simple solutions for a cleaner ride, such as avoiding busy roads like 8th Avenue whenever possible.
"It's something that actually concerns a lot of people that do cycle," said Michael Brauer, a cyclist and atmospheric scientist at the University of British Columbia who was not involved in the new study. "People want to understand their risk. They're just thinking all the time, 'Is this good for me? Is this bad for me? I'm doing my part, but there's this car that's throwing this exhaust in my face.' "
For the study, 42 healthy, non-smoking cyclists wore heart monitors before, during and after cycling for one hour on high- and low-traffic roads between May and September last year. Instruments on the bikes' panniers measured exposure to air pollution.
"Our findings suggest that short-term exposure to traffic may have a significant impact on cardiac autonomic function in healthy adults," the scientists from Health Canada, Environment Canada and the University of Ottawa wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
The study does not suggest that bikers would be better off driving, experts say. Rather, the findings intensify the scrutiny on cyclists' pollution exposure, and point to simple solutions for a cleaner ride, such as avoiding busy roads like 8th Avenue whenever possible.
"It's something that actually concerns a lot of people that do cycle," said Michael Brauer, a cyclist and atmospheric scientist at the University of British Columbia who was not involved in the new study. "People want to understand their risk. They're just thinking all the time, 'Is this good for me? Is this bad for me? I'm doing my part, but there's this car that's throwing this exhaust in my face.' "
For the study, 42 healthy, non-smoking cyclists wore heart monitors before, during and after cycling for one hour on high- and low-traffic roads between May and September last year. Instruments on the bikes' panniers measured exposure to air pollution.
Researchers are not sure how air pollution alters heart rate variability. One idea is that particles in the lungs cause inflammation, which throws off the body's ability to carry out its automatic functions.For the Canadian cyclists, when their exposure to certain pollutants, including ultrafine particles, nitrogen dioxide or ozone, increased, their heart rate variability decreased, according to the study.
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7 Comments
Add CommentTwo paragraphs of this text have been duplicated.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI bike to work about 99% of the time and I try to run errands on my bike as much as I can. It always irks me when someone passes me driving a diesel pickup or a huge SUV on a suburban road, spewing out much more pollution that they have to.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI mean, I know that some people MIGHT need to tow something once a year or they have 5 kids or whatever, but when I see 1 person and zero cargo in a vehicle that looks like it has never been off road in its existence, I kind of wonder if that person even TRULY evaluated their REAL needs when buying that vehicle. Really, and this might sound smug, but why do I have to choke down all that extra pollution so THEY can have a false sense of security and an ego boost from their land yacht? What’s so hard about buying a sensible, fuel efficient passenger car for 99% of your driving and renting the pickup for the one or two times a year you actually use its capabilities?
The IC engine will soon be history. Never buy a new car.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou miscounted: 4 paragraphs (7, 8, 9, & 10) are duplicated (11, 12, 13, & 14).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"I mean, I know that some people MIGHT need to tow something once a year or they have 5 kids or whatever, but when I see 1 person and zero cargo in a vehicle that looks like it has never been off road in its existence, I kind of wonder if that person even TRULY evaluated their REAL needs when buying that vehicle. Really, and this might sound smug, but why do I have to choke down all that extra pollution so THEY can have a false sense of security and an ego boost from their land yacht? Whats so hard about buying a sensible, fuel efficient passenger car for 99% of your driving and renting the pickup for the one or two times a year you actually use its capabilities?"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDitto. It always amazes me, the level of irrationality associated with so much of our purchasing decisions, most of which seem aimed at social validation rather than at actual satisfaction of our needs. That's just putting too much power on other people's hands so that we can feel the approval of the herd.
Returning to the article, as a bicycle commuter, I reduce the problem by choosing my hours carefully: the early bird avoids rush hour.
"the early bird avoids rush hour."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe late bird does too.
Is it not true for anyone walking, or basically living, in our cities that pollution of all sorts will have an effect of their lungs? The concentration, due to high volumes of traffic, will be according to exposure. Any one working outside, from street vendors to police, etc. is exposed not just bicyclists. Improvements in car technologies is reducing pollution. But it is in our hands, or feet, how much we pollute. We all seem to be driving in a continuous high state of anxiety about "time" and seem to be speeding to all our destinations. It has been estimated that on average we all decrease efficiency, or miles per gallon, in the range of 30%. Speeding, idling, looking for that extra close parking slot, etc. basically throws about 1/3 of our gasoline purchase out the window! No wonder oil companies enjoy 8 to 10 billion in profits each quarter!! Yet,in view of these facts, we continue our wasteful driving habits much like addicts that continue behavior they know is bad for them. It has been said that you cannot manage what you do not measure. Have you measured your driving efficiency? Recent studies have confirmed that even with technology in the vehicle that can tell drivers how efficient, or not, they are driving, drivers will not change their habits. Average extra cost? About $400 each year. More for those who drive extra large vehicles.
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