I had almost never been sick in my life until, at 60, I developed asthma/sinusitis. I had been riding my bicycle for transportation during the previous 8 years, ironically to aid air quality in my city, my emotional and physical health. Only when my friend with life long asthma recommended that I pay attention to pollution indexes did I realize how bad air quality was, at times, in my area. The map showing daily particle and ozone concentrations is usually (when no wild fires) shockingly concentrated in a grid pattern, along roads where I ride to get places. I am terribly frustrated that, in order to act to save the air quality and environment on many levels (biking instead of driving), I'm forced to breath air which harms my lungs! This seems extremely counterproductive to society's overall best interest. One hope I have is that we can begin considering the "externality" costs of our poor city planning decisions; invest less in car friendly infrastructure and highways than in active transportation networks and "liveable cities".
