If you’re anything like me, you’re still working on remembering to check the weather before you head off to work. But the folks at Dyson (yes, the maker of found that one in six deaths that occurred in 2019 could be attributed to pollution.
Maddie Bender
While scientists previously thought that air pollution did the most harm by causing and exacerbating chronic respiratory diseases like asthma, we now know that a large proportion of these pollution-related deaths are due to heart attacks, Wexler said. Exposure to particle pollution increases the risk of heart disease, but researchers are still working to untangle the connection between the two. Recently, Wexler’s research has uncovered some of the unexpected neurological effects of air pollution, including a link to Alzheimer’s disease.
Then there’s the design of the headphones. Wexler, who once sat on a judging panel for an air pollution design contest, said that the Dyson Zone immediately made him think of another tech product that was doomed from its launch: Google Glass.
“There’s no way anybody’s going to wear that thing, just like Google Glass,” he said, comparing the look of the Zone to a motocross helmet. Personally I thought it looked more like part of the Iron Man helmet, but point taken. Still, the device could make a big impact on some communities—no, not cyberpunk fashionistas or Silicon Valley techfluencers.
“On the positive side, this device is probably going to be great for occupational safety,” Wexler said. Fields like metalwork, agriculture, and emergency response often require workers to wear respirators to protect themselves against dangerous aerosols, but these sealed masks are uncomfortable. If an employer has the budget for it, Dyson Zones could raise personal protective equipment compliance and improve worker satisfaction.
Ultimately, solutions to air pollution need to come from policies and tech that lifts all ships.
“The bottom line is that if you want better, cleaner air, you have to emit less pollution into the air,” Wexler said. The shift toward electric vehicles will improve air quality in urban centers and reduce levels of nitrogen oxide. There are also a handful of free ways you can breathe cleaner air—when idling in traffic, drivers should turn on air circulation within their car, and people should cook with their vents on or a window open to improve air circulation.
When I asked whether he believes people have a fundamental right to clean air, Brough replied, “Absolutely.
“But,” he added, “I also think that people don’t fully understand what air actually looks like at the moment. I think a lot of people think that they’re possibly breathing clean air when they’re not.” I understood the implication to be that it’s only with a device like the Dyson Zone that a person can know for sure.
Dyson’s copy claims that its headphones ensure that “wherever you are, you can breathe purified air.” But apparently, not whoever you are.
