• Augmenting Air Quality Monitoring Networks

In some parts of the world, a lack of data makes understanding local pollution–and its impact on community health–nearly impossible.

New, lower-cost air pollution sensing technologies can change that. These new sensors are not only more
methods. They also show how pollution changes from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even block to block. This kind of hyperlocal data can shine a light on previously invisible hotspots, helping officials and empowering communities to make a stronger case for changes that protect public health and the environment. Cities can use hyperlocal pollution data to invest in clean transportation, create clean air zones, change land-use rules and more efficiently set and enforce pollution and emissions rules. This expanding field brings not only opportunities for cities and activists, but for companies with expertise in sensing technology, fleet management and data analysis. EDF’s pioneering work with Google Earth Outreach in Oakland, California showed levels of air pollution can vary by up to eight times within one city block. Living in areas with the most elevated levels increased heart attack risk in the elderly by 40%, similar to a history of smoking. New monitoring methods are helping us see where — and when — pollution is at its worst