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Ecomedia
How the Natural World is Transforming the Nature of Media.
This weblog is not the usual blog of daily events. It contains a series of notes/thoughts designed to make connections between science and media art.
Sometimes these ideas are tied in with current events, but most of the time this blog is not in any particular order. It serves as a central area for a detailed examination of ideas first published in a 1999 Leonardo Journal article entitled 'Active Vision' that I hope to develop into a book that will discuss some of the current developments in science, ecology, media and society and how they inform and are informed by new technologies. The book will be written for artists working with digital media and anyone who is interested in future directions of the medium.
http://www.andreapolli.com
last modified Sep 7, 2006 at 13:00
"Therefore, O Painter, make your smaller figures merely indicated and not highly finished, otherwise you will produce effects opposite to nature, your supreme guide. The object is small by reason of the great distance between it and the eye; this great distance is filled with air, that mass of air forms a dense body which intervenes and prevents the eye from seeing the minute details of the objects". Leonardo da Vinci, "Six Books on Light and Shade."
Particles in the air affect our health, and also affect our ability to see distances. When light hits tiny particles in the air, the result is haze. Sunlight is partially absorbed by the particles partially scattered away, creating light reflections like a series of tiny mirrors and reducing visibility.
Haze is caused by particles from electric utilities and industrial fuel burning (coal, for example), manufacturing, and vehicles. Forest fires and dust also contribute to haze.
The worst haze is on the East coast of the United States and is primarily caused by power plants and other industries.
Due to haze caused by human factors, visibility in scenic areas has been substantially reduced. In the East, average visual range has decreased from 90 miles to 15-25 miles. In the West, visual range has decreased from 140 miles to 35-90 miles.
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/samson/aerosols/
Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.
8 million American women are currently living with heart disease. 435,000 women have heart attacks each year, and 267,000 women die from those attacks. 43% of deaths in American women, or nearly 500,000, are caused by heart disease and stroke each year.
The age-adjusted rate of heart disease for African American women is 72% higher than for white women, while African American women ages 55-64 are twice as likely as white women to have a heart attack.
38% of women and 25% of men will die within one year of a first recognized heart attack. More women than men die of heart disease each year, but women also comprise only 25% of participants in all heart-related research studies.
Why do more women than men suffer from heart disease? Why is there such a disparity among women of different races? Results of a major study released this month linking particle pollution with heart disease in women may be part of the reason.
According to a rigorous University of Washington study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, women living in areas with higher levels of air pollution have a much greater risk of developing heart disease and dying from cardiovascular causes.
The most dramatic effect was seen with an increase in particulate pollution, tiny particles smaller than 2.5 microns (also known as PM2.5), many times smaller than the width of a human hair.
The risk posed by PM2.5 to women is much greater than previously believed, each increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter there was a 24-percent increase in the risk of a cardiovascular event among the study subjects and a 76-percent rise in the risk of death.
The study showed, for example, that a woman living Birmingham, Ala., one of the smoggiest cities, would have roughly a 76% increased risk of dying from cardiovascular causes than someone living in Tucson, Ariz., which was among the cities with the cleanest air.
Prolonged exposure is a factor in reducing overall life expectancy by a few years and even short-term exposure is associated with increased risk of death caused by a heart attack or heartbeat irregularity.
Speculation as to why women seem to be more sensitive to these particles has to do with women having smaller blood vessels on average than men, making particles more likely to become trapped in the lungs or bloodstream.
Environmental racism may now explain why African American women are such greater risk of heart disease.
Resources
The national coalition for women with heart disease:
http://www.womenheart.org/information/women_and_heart_disease_fact_sheet.asp
Miller KA, Siscovick DS, Sheppard L, Shepherd K, Sullivan JH, Anderson GL, Kaufman JD. N Engl J Med 2007; 356:447-458. Available online: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/5/447?ijkey=2eeac663fe9da62089808800aa30cad1a3dfdac6
Dockery DW, Stone PH. Cardiovascular Risks from Fine Particulate Air Pollution. N Engl J Med 2007; 356:511-513. Available online: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/5/511
http://www.cleanairstandards.org/article/2007/02/717
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/02/01/study-claims-link-between-pollution-heart-disease/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chron.com%2Fdisp%2Fstory.mpl%2Ffront%2F4516714.html&frame=true
http://130.80.29.3/disp/story.mpl/health/4516714.html
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=62058
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