EU Commission takes legal action
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-238_de.htm
HLNUG: High values since 1997
http://www.hlnug.de/?id=9231
NOXmas, The City Air Indicator
The Tree of Enlightenment
It is an open secret: Although we can neither see nor smell air pollutants, they have been posing a serious health risk in German cities for years. According to the EU Commission, they cause three times as many deaths as road accidents. We visualized the poor quality of the air in Wiesbaden live and on a daily basis for the residents of the city.
Wiesbaden is one of the most attractive spa cities in Germany, but at the same time it is one of the cities with the worst air quality. Almost all day long, air pollution with nitrogen dioxide (NOX for short), which is harmful for our health, is often four times as high as the maximum level permitted by EU directives – and this has been the case for years. To draw the city's residents' attention to this issue, a big plane tree in front of the Wiesbaden main station was transformed into a social sculpture. And although it might have looked like a Christmas decoration at first glance, it was in fact the world's biggest nitrogen dioxide indicator.
The installation, which was made up of over 10,000 LEDs, visualized real-time information on air pollution with nitrogen dioxide based on the measurements of the State Agency for Environment and Geology (HLUG). If the LEDs glowed red, the current value exceeded the maximum EU level of 40 micrograms per cubic meter. If they were green, the air in the city of Wiesbaden was good. The values were updated every 30 minutes.
"Data visualization is the key. Nobody willingly looks at official statistics, but you can't walk past a huge, lit-up tree without noticing it.“
Peter Reichard, Project Manager
The tree was merely illustrating a phenomenon that was by no means new – ever since the start of measurements, the annual average nitrogen dioxide limit has been exceeded in Wiesbaden year in, year out. Current studies by the Agency for Environment and Geology confirmed that this was again the case in 2016. And although the problem has been evident for years, the danger remains invisible for most people.
"With NOXmas, we turned air pollution into a topic of discussion in Wiesbaden. We now hope that policy-makers will take some concrete measures."
Michael Volkmer
"With NOXmas, we turned air pollution into a topic of discussion in Wiesbaden. We now hope that policy-makers will take some concrete measures."
Michael Volkmer
In addition to the light installation, the figures can also be accessed online. The air quality indicator at www.noxmas.de works like a weather app. Citizens can check out the current level of air pollution at a glance, look at the values over the past days, and compare them.
NOXmas has become a nationwide air quality indicator.
The project, initially launched as NOXmas, has now spread to other cities. Under the name "Stadtluftanzeiger" (city air indicator), the carbon dioxide values can now be accessed for over 300 cities across Germany at www.stadtluft-anzeiger.de. The light installation has moved from Wiesbaden to Karlsruhe where it is being exhibited for visitors at the ZKM and as part of the "Open Codes" show. Visitors can experience it there as an interactive exhibit.
EU Commission takes legal action
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-238_de.htm
HLNUG: High values since 1997
http://www.hlnug.de/?id=9231
