Suppose the practical questions of how to make a home healthy are solved. Suppose we do untangle the science of houses and indoor air, and how they make people sick. Fantastic.
Then what? Who will you call to figure out whether your home is making you sick, and what can be done about it? You’ll call an HVAC contractor, or some other kind of building contractor. It’s your house you want fixed, and they fix houses. Continue reading Who Do You Call? Part 1
I just sent this email to my Congressperson, Earl Blumenauer, who supported Fast Track for the TPP (TransPacific Partnership). He is otherwise an excellent representative.
Free trade is great in theory. I took Econ 101 years ago and learned why it’s so great for nations to maximize what they’re good at making, and sell their stuff to other nations that make other things better than they can. Continue reading Free Trade
I have spent this week sorting what I know about asthma, indoor air, air, houses, and the costs thereof, into different boxes. I have also taken inventory of what I don’t know, and what no one knows, about these subjects. Continue reading Rhetoric of a Pitch
From my last post, a couple days ago:
The obstacles to treating asthma this way are numerous, complex, and mutually reinforcing, like the obstacles to anything new. Fascinating villains, at least to me. And if I tell this story right, also troubling to any reader who might stand to benefit from this idea that she’ll never get a chance at.
So, what obstacles?
Obstacle 1. We don’t even know if this works for more than a few people.
There are a few heartwarming anecdotes, but no denominator. To find out how many people might benefit, someone’s going to have to spend money to collect careful data. Continue reading What Obstacles?
… make lemonade.
Maybe the reason this story isn’t falling into place is that I think it’s a success story. You know, everybody from health insurers to home remodelers will link arms and sing happy songs about indoor air quality. Continue reading If All You Have is !@#$%!
This story, if that’s what it is, the one about treating asthma with home improvement instead of prescription meds, is driving me nuts. Excuse me while I rant.
Stories have shapes, and so far this one is a blob. Continue reading The Writer at Work – !@#$%!
In the beginning there was air, and it was the same everywhere.
Then someone invented shelter, which divided air into two kinds, indoor and outdoor. Walls and roofs kept storms and wildlife out, but kept in smoke from cooking. The first indoor air must have been pretty bad. Continue reading Air, the History
I woke up feeling cold. One December morning, after five days of below-freezing weather, my furnace didn’t wake up.
Since this was the kind of weather that kills old furnaces, my mittened husband made many calls to heating contractors before finding one that could squeeze us in. Continue reading Fahrenheit Asthma
Still working on housekeeping details, but we’ve got a floor and a ceiling.