Air pollution is a chimera

“In Greek mythology, the chimera is a fantastic evil creature whose body usually held half the lion and half the goat, and which had the tail of a snake. The name “chimera” has been given to fantastic beasts that have nothing in common with the animal of mythology but the bizarre composite character.”(wikipedia)

Air pollution holds of the chimera not because of its fantastic aspect, nor of the model which allows to study its evolution but well by its composite dimension. Indeed, we often use the generic term of “air pollution” whereas it would be more right and useful to speak about “air pollutants”. 

What does this change? Actually quite a lot, especially when it comes to taking action. 

Typically, if we look at the issue from the point of view of indoor air pollutants / outdoor air pollutants, we see that they are globally of different natures and sources. While fine particles are a problem in both environments their origins and natures are often quite different, similarly VOCs are a pollutant to which we are more exposed in indoor air, while NO2 or O3 are rather problematic pollutants in outdoor air. Thus, fighting against “pollution” without taking into account these specific distinctions is like a losing battle against a vague uniform/multiform cloud, whereas fighting against “pollutants” or rather their sources is a much more reachable challenge. In a way, air must be seen as a vector for the transport of pollutants and not as a simple invisible cocktail that we breathe in despite ourselves.

...fighting against “pollution” without taking into account these specific distinctions is like a losing battle against a vague uniform/multiform cloud

If we now approach the question of pollution under the prism of health impact, this distinction pollution / pollutants allows us to become fully actor of our exposure. Indeed our individual choices have a real impact in the confined spaces in which we spend on average more than 80% of our time. Our indoor air can be a protective cocoon or, on the contrary, a real soup of compounds with highly deleterious effects on our health. With regard to our health, simple solutions with strong impacts exist in corrective mode (aeration, ventilation, air purification) and preventive mode to limit the sources (combustions, degassing products…)

Seen from the environment/climate point of view, air quality is a whole different adventure. The nature of the pollutants, their origins, their mechanisms, their effects…, with this change of scale, the nature of the solutions to be sought is in a completely different register, and there is no window to open to bring in fresh air. Long term vision, societal choices, collective responsibility, renunciation of certain superfluous comforts, so many choices which, as time goes by, will call more on our survival instinct than on our wisdom. 

...choices which, as time goes by, will call more on our survival instinct than on our wisdom

source : unknown

Beyond the obvious continuity between indoor and outdoor air, the management of air pollutions deserves to be approached with certain nuances that are ultimately important if we are looking for solutions. Interior and external pollutions, are obviously not to be treated without continuity, quite to the contrary. Ventilation, smart buildings, but also as individuals we must be ready to consume differently to avoid putting in our homes products that impact our air, our health, as much as they impact our planet. 

In this respect, an air purifier is undoubtedly a very good individual solution to treat our indoor air, but what about its environmental impact in terms of manufacturing and energy consumption? And what about electric cars? When looking for solutions we need to have the global "Air quality-health-climate" issues in mind as a short term/small scale positive action could be masking or even accelerating the real problem.

In the fight against this chimera, if we had to choose one weapon?

I am a fan of technologies, IOT, sensors, mapping and so on, but our best investment, the most profitable in the short / medium / long term and without negative externalities, is of course education, but this is another story.

"Homer tells in the Iliad that the hero Bellerophon had received orders from King Iobates to kill this terrible monster, and could not appear again until it was done, on pain of death. According to the Odes of Pindar, the young hero began to wander, burning with the desire to capture Pegasus, the only animal that was faster than the flames of the monster. Bellerophon got up at once and seized the bridle that the goddess Athena was handing him. He went to the son of Cœramus, the soothsayer of the region, to tell him his vision. The soothsayer ordered him to obey and to raise an altar to Athena after having immolated a bull to Poseidon. Bellerophon did so and went to Ephyra where he found Pegasus, overpowered him, and then, jumping on the back of the winged horse clad with his weapons, trained him for the fight to come. According to Pausanias, Pegasus was brought to Bellerophon by Athena who had captured and bridled him herself and according to Hesiod, by Poseidon while the hero was wandering in search of a solution.

Pegasus became Bellerophon's mount and the hero defeated the Chimera with his help, depending on the version, either by using a lead-weighted spear that melted on contact with the beast's flaming mouth and burned its entrails as it passed, or by riddling it with arrows." (wikipedia)