Global air pollution is severe, but it’s meeting resistance from tech nonprofit OpenAQ. Christa Hasenkopf, CEO of OpenAQ, is relentlessly solving air inequality by enabling scientists, journalists, and citizens to use data as a springboard for enacting change in communities around the world.
, it is a completely solvable issue. That across cities - from London to Pittsburgh - we’re seeing air inequality obliterated. Can you talk about some of the solutions we’re seeing?: The barriers to solving air inequality boil down to the social and political will of governments. When the public holds governments accountable, air inequality decreases. Take what happened
in Beijing several years ago. The US Embassy began tweeting air quality data from a device on the embassy’s roof. The tweets enabled third-party software developers to scrape the data, which they converted to user-friendly apps. For the first time, real-time, understandable air pollution information made its way into the hands of millions of Beijingers, resulting in a loud public outcry.
Media began covering the issue using data, NGOs began analyzing and publicizing the data, and eventually, the Chinese government created stringent air quality standards and more open data practices. Fast forward to today, the country runs the world’s largest air quality monitoring system.
Around this time, I was coming to the conclusion that the work I’d done in grad school was intellectually interesting, but I felt I could be doing work that had a more direct impact on people. I had this moment of realization that I could use my scientific skills to do a relatively simple study that would be really useful for decision makers. Little did I know this was just the beginning… : A lot. It started physically, being in a place with air pollution so bad you could taste it.
Upon hearing this, I shared it with the OpenAQ Community on GitHub, and a software developer in Mongolia wrote a piece of code enabling OpenAQ to access the data and share it. This meant the citizens could simply click a button and download the data they needed, regardless of its timestamp. It was a simple and impactful first step in addressing air inequality in their community.
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