poison ivy has the right idea
- October 27th, 2015
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Higher levels of CO2 – levels commonly found indoors – appear to have substantial impact upon cognitive capability. VOCs have similar effects. This is a follow-up study to a previous study which showed the same effects.
Both are particularly interesting given that the cognitive impairment effects are seen at CO2 levels similar to the projected no-action-taken general atmospheric levels of CO2 by 2100.
Actual study here:
Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments
Joseph G. Allen, Piers MacNaughton, Usha Satish, Suresh Santanam, Jose Vallarino, and John D. Spengler
Article about that study here:
Exclusive: Elevated CO2 Levels Directly Affect Human Cognition, New Harvard Study Shows
Joe Romm
So the applications are obvious, of course. If you need people to be a bit more stupid than usual, and to handle crises badly, pump up the CO2 and/or VOCs. They’re both pretty invisible to the nose. But the CO2 – that’s really the handy part, because you don’t even need a generator. The levels already present are meaningful, and all you have to do is block the air-exchanger intakes to make them much worse.
The best part is, it only takes minutes to take effect! Sleeping and paralysis gasses should be so efficient.
But there are obvious concerns for your own lair, as well. NASA has already changed space station scrubbing levels for CO2. Should you be doing the same for your lair? Clearly, it’s something to consider. Evil is one thing – but stupidity? I think we can all agree – that’s unacceptable.
If you’re looking for the Grammy Awards Long List nominees, thank you for listening, and for your consideration.
6 comments on Livejournal, 2 comments on a pre-post on Facebook.
I wish I could check my workplace. We have no operable windows, and our air-handling system is ancient and poorly designed. My cube-neighbor and I both maintain small houseplant jungles (including a Dracaena marginata, which is NASA-research recommended for removing formaldehyde and a few other things from the air), but I wonder if it’s enough.
My house doesn’t have enough direct light for many plants, sadly, but at least there I can open a window.
They will certainly help, particularly with the carbon dioxide. From what I remember reading, an average sized house plant is good for about 100 square feet of a home, so a couple should do it for an office, where levels of everything are worse.
Also, it won’t help for CO2, but if you run a small activated carbon filter (Hamilton Beach has one for $25ish on Amazon, plus filter replacement every three months), that will help a lot with VOCs. You don’t need any of the other filter types, so you have cheap options. It depends upon how well you tolerate white noise, really.
With all the carpet baffles in my studio, I’ve realised I need to get such a filter and run it on a timer at night, just to keep VOCs from building up. I’m also getting a couple of Peace Lily plants (very tolerant of low light) and plant lights with timers for a couple of places in the house to improve the overall picture here.