Air quality course related to citizen science and evidence-based policy-making in the context of a series of workshops with 2nd-year students at college.

1. ECOLOGY (Air quality)
Critical Approach to
Social Issues

2. Air pollution: What’s it?
acid rain
global warming
ozone depletion
health effects
habitat loss
transport
greenhouse gasses
traffic
air quality
air toxics

3. Air pollution: What’s it?
In most cities air quality has improved (substantially) over the past decades.
The visible and noticeable air pollution (smoke, dust, smog) has disappeared
from many cities due to local, national and European initiatives.
However, still air quality poses an immediate threat in almost all major cities.
• On the one side, due to industrial incidents or pollution episodes;
• But also due to the main ground pollutants (e.g., fossil fuel-based mobility).

4. Air pollution: What’s it?
Airborne particulate matter varies widely in its physical and chemical
composition, source and particle size:
• PM10 particles (the fraction of particulates in air of very small size
(<10 µm)) and PM2.5 particles (<2.5 µm) are of major current
concern, as they are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs
and so potentially pose significant health risks.
The principal source of airborne PM10 and PM2.5 matter in European
cities is road traffic emissions, particularly from diesel vehicles.
Greenhouse gasses: Particulate matter

5. Air pollution: What’s it?
NOx is a term used to describe a mixture of nitric oxide (NO) and
nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
• They are inorganic gases formed by combination of oxygen with
nitrogen from the air. NO is produced in much greater quantities
than NO2, but oxidises to NO2 in the atmosphere.
NO2 causes detrimental effects to the bronchial system. NOx is
emitted when fuel is being burned e.g. in transport, industrial
processes and power generation.
Greenhouse gasses: Nitrogen oxides (NOx)

6. Air pollution: What’s it?
Ground-level ozone (O3), unlike other pollutants mentioned, is not
emitted directly into the atmosphere.
• It is a secondary pollutant produced by reaction between nitrogen
dioxide (NO2), hydrocarbons and sunlight.
Ozone levels are not as high in urban areas (where high levels of NO
are emitted from vehicles) as in rural areas. Sunlight provides the
energy to initiate ozone formation; consequently, high levels of
ozone are generally observed during hot, still sunny, summertime
weather.
Greenhouse gasses: Ozone (O3)

7. Air pollution: What’s it?
Fossil fuels contain traces of sulphur compounds, and SO2 is
produced when they are burnt.
• The majority of the SO2 emitted to the air is from power
generation, and the contribution from transport sources is small
(shipping being an exception).
Exposure to SO2 can damage health by its action on the bronchial
system. Sulphuric acid generated from atmospheric reactions of SO2
is the main constituent of acid rain, and ammonium sulphate
particles are the most abundant secondary particles found in air.
Greenhouse gasses: Sulphur dioxide (SO2)

8. Air pollution: What’s it?
CO is an odourless, tasteless and colourless gas produced by the
incomplete burning of materials which contain carbon (also by their
evaporation), including most transport fuels.
• CO is toxic, acting by reaction with haemoglobin and reducing its
capacity for oxygen transport in the blood.
Even in busy urban centres, CO concentrations rarely exceed health
related standards.
Greenhouse gasses: Carbon monoxide (CO)

9. What is in it for me (health and
environmental effects)?

10. PM 2,5 & PM10
NO2
O3
SO2
CO
Current situation in Spain?

11. PM 2,5 & PM10
NO2
O3
SO2
CO
Current situation in EU?
Source: https://www.airqualitynow.eu/

12. PM 2,5 & PM10
NO2
O3
SO2
CO
Current situation in EU?
Source: https://www.eea.europa.eu/

13. How do these pollutants impact me?
neurological
effects
respiratory disease
birth outcomes
health effects
cancer
cardiovascular

14. Do pollutants affect everyone equally?

15. What can I do? Solutions?

16. What can I do? Solutions?

17. What can I do? Solutions?

18. What can I do? Solutions?

19. What can I do? Solutions?

20. Can I push policy-makers to take action?
Acting for sustainability is all about:
• Raising political agency: To navigate the political system, identify political
responsibility and accountability for unsustainable behaviour, and demand
effective policies for sustainability.
• Promoting collective action: To act for change in collaboration with others.
• Doing individual initiatives: To identify own potential for sustainability and to
actively contribute to improving prospects for the community and the planet

21. Can I push policy-makers or relevant
stakeholders to take action?
Source: https://www.mcmasterforum.org/networks/evidence-commission/report/english
Evidence-based policy (EBP) is an idea in
public policy proposing that policy decisions
should be based on, or informed by,
rigorously established objective evidence.
The implied contrast is with policymaking
based on ideology, 'common sense,'
anecdotes, and intuitions.

22. Can I push policy-makers or relevant
stakeholders to take action?
Source: https://www.mcmasterforum.org/networks/evidence-commission/report/english

23. The rise of Citizen Science

24. The rise of Citizen Science

25. The rise of Citizen Science

26. The rise of Citizen Science: Roadmap for
participation

27. The rise of Citizen Science: Principles
Involve citizens
in scientific
endeavour
Participate in
multiple stages
of the scientific
process
Greater public
engagement
and
democratisation
of science
Data and
metadata are
made openly
publicly
available
Have a genuine
science
outcome

28. The rise of Citizen Science: Is this for me?

29. The rise of Citizen Science: Examples (AQ)

30. The rise of Citizen Science: Examples (AQ)

31. The rise of Citizen Science: Examples (AQ)
Procedures
Guidelines
Criteria
Instruments
Materials

32. Bibliography and resources consulted
• https://cshl.libguides.com/c.php?g=474068&p=3243840
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/climate/air-pollution-minorities.html
• https://www3.epa.gov/region1/airquality/reducepollution.html
• https://who.canto.global/v/LOJV1PH4GO/album/LFSA6
• https://www.who.int/news/item/22-09-2021-new-who-global-air-quality-guidelines-aim-to-save-millions-of-lives-from-air-pollution
• https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00357-0/fulltext
• https://www.airqualitynow.eu/
• https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/poquer-contaminantes-aire-son-sustancias-toxicas-respiramos_1_7959559.html
• https://pixabay.com/
• https://www.bi.team/blogs/the-rise-of-evidence-based-policymaking/
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/-in-california-extreme-heat-and-ozone-pollution-hit-poor-communities-hardest
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/air-pollution
• https://www.eea.europa.eu/media/newsreleases/many-europeans-still-exposed-to-air-pollution-2015/premature-deaths-attributable-to-air-poll
ution
• https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/16/ella-kissi-debrah-mother-fight-justice-air-pollution-death
• https://vigilantesdelaire.ibercivis.es/el-proyecto/
• https://civity.nl/en/data-management-platform-cip/cip-iot/sniffer-bike/
• https://www.scivil.be/en/guides-and-manuals
• https://eu-citizen.science/

33. YOUR TURN!
• You will conduct a ‘Kind-of’ citizen science project.
• You are responsible for starting an introspection process about your carbon footprint. This process will
help you to create awareness about your everyday impacts on the environment.
• You will share your results with your team and collectively share which are the areas of improvement.
• You will be provided with a diary to daily, during two weeks, annotate and report on your daily
actions with an impact on the environment where you live. The objective is to think twice about
methodologies and strategies to change some habits or behaviours.
• You will share your findings (data) with your peers and again detect if you have lowered the impact
through the calculator.
• You will be asked to design and ideally run a campaign to raise collective air quality awareness in
campus. How many people are you able to recruit? What is the different level of commitment? What
are the obstacles that you have encountered?
• Finally, you and your team will be asked to create a set of 10 proposals to the University of
DEUSTO’s sustainability team to improve the air quality on campus putting special emphasis on those
actions and activities that students and teachers can do in their daily routine at college.