Okay, it’s time for me to come clean and admit that I’ve made two car journeys since I started my challenge. However, I couldn’t take the bike as the trips involved me buying some new furniture.
Otherwise, I’ve surprised myself at how easy it has been for me to leave the car at home. The old habit of grabbing the car keys and going about my day hasn’t cropped up. The unseasonal weather we’re experiencing over the last few days has made it easier for me to take the bike, although the near 20-degree heat in October is a little unsettling.
As my challenge has a big focus on reducing air pollution, I signed up for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Together programme. Over the next 30 days, I am joining 999 other citizen scientists in Dublin to measure the NO2 levels in our areas. There is a sticker on one of the windows at the front of my house to let the neighbours know why there is a test tube dangling out the window.
I look forward to having a chat with my neighbours to tell them about why my challenge is important to me when I bump into them and hopefully I can leave a positive impression with them.
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cCHANGE Team commented on Day 8: Clean Air Together 4 years agoHi Aaron, Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you are on the way to incorporating this new habit into your life. Being part of the EPA programme is really cool. I wonder what you will find out re: the NO2 levels ... or do you already have an inkling of the levels? It's going to be interesting to see if you can connect with your neighbours and whether they are curious about the test tube and care about the quality of air in their neighbourhood. As you say, you may through conversations and questions, be able to shift the narrative in your street. When narratives shift, big changes can happen quickly. Have you read Donella Meadows' "Leverage Points" work: https://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/ Changing narratives is up there among the highest leverage points. Perhaps you can feed them back the results in a simple way somehow? That would be around half way on Donella Meadows' Leverage Points scale - Information flows. Thanks for sharing, enjoy the weekend. Best, Leonie Respond
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Aaron McNiffe commented on Day 8: Clean Air Together 4 years agoHi Leonie. I live in a housing estate that is directly beside both the M1 and M50 motorways. These are two of the busiest roads in Ireland so I would expect the NO2 levels to be quite high. Thank you for recommending this reading. I've saved it to my reading list and I'll be sure to get to it during the week. All the best, Aaron. Respond
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