America’s Unhealthy Commutes
I can’t help touching upon lifestyle issues here, as the topic at hand is our homes in the New England region. I was in Boston yesterday, having taken the commuter rail from downtown Salem to North Station, the Green Line to Park St, and Red Line to South Station, walked a few blocks, and then reversed course to Park Street and out to Longwood, where I walked up the street for a second meeting. By the time I got off the commuter rail again in Salem I was reeling from the constant smell of exhaust that hung around my neck like a noose all day. It was especially prevalent while I sat waiting for the train to depart North Station.
Today brings an article from Forbes on how our commutes affect our health, and it’s not about our diet during those commutes or around that schedule, nor is it about stress. It’s about exhaust and fumes.
Even if you live in a city with low pollution levels, don’t kid yourself; that doesn’t necessarily mean your commute is healthy. A 2007 report by the Clean Air Task Force that investigated diesel exhaust levels during commutes in New York, Boston, Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, documented diesel particle levels four to eight times higher inside commuter cars, buses and trains than in those cities’ ambient outdoor air.
