This morning Joe Biden sent lots of pundits and airline executives into a tizzy by saying he wouldn’t want his family flying on a commercial airplane these days, what with all the pig flus floating around. This was a “gaffe” because it was probably something he shouldn’t have said. But, politics aside, was it sound advice?
We consulted the government’s own go-to reference guide on the question of getting sick on planes, a book from the National Research Council called “THE AIRLINER CABIN ENVIRONMENT AND THE HEALTH OF PASSENGERS AND CREW.” [Their caps -Ed.] In fact, it makes Biden’s statement seem entirely sound. The science, to the extent these things have been studied, is a bit frightening.
Some key quotes:
- “For viruses [in aerosol form], relative humidity and viability are inversely proportional. Thus… the low relative humidities present in most aircraft during flight … probably augment the viability of most viruses.”
- “Coughing and sneezing produce the biologically richest aerosols [i.e. containing the most bacteria and viruses]. A sneeze produces very large droplets (200 microns and larger). Immediately on release, respiratory droplets begin to dry. Many become droplet nuclei, which are very small, remain airborne for long periods, and [...] can remain infective for hours or even days.”
- “A sneeze produces approximately 2 million viable particles. These do not remain airborne very long, but are highly infective and can be inhaled by people near the infected source. Talking can produce as many as 2,000 particles per explosive sound.”
- “Filters currently used in aircraft ventilation systems probably remove only a very small fraction of the continually produced bioaerosols.”
A lot of people seem to be thinking about the unintended consequences of laws designed to make us safer on the roads, whether as cyclists or drivers.
Sometimes it’s fun to see strong evidence for something you’re already pretty sure is true. In this case: A map from 
Just two months ago, the idea of taxing motorists on the basis of how many miles they drive seemed to be dead as a doornail. After being floated by the new transportation secretary as a way to fund our highways, his boss–the guy everyone calls “Mr President”–
“The Seagull” Streetlamp - Like the Light Blossom, the Seagull is designed to be the self-powering device. The main difference is that this one already exists. 
There’s a wonderful article in the current issue of Insight, the energy journal published by Platts, called “The Unbearable Lightness of Wind.”
If there were such a book as “7 Habits of Highly Successful Planetary Civilizations,” one of those habits would be the ability to recognize and do simple things that substantially address complex problems–and to do so even if those simple things seem kind of silly at first.
