Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why are you doing this?
A: Our hope is to raise awareness of air pollution problems in the Southern California region and provide a fun and inclusive experience of air pollution data gathering while interacting with animals often regarded as urban hazards.

Q: I own racing pigeons and would like to become involved. Can I participate?
A: Yes! We currently have enough volunteers for our upcoming Southern California releases, but are looking for volunteers in other parts of the country.

Q: Carbon Monoxide and NOx are not considered greenhouse gases, why are you focusing on those?
A: Nitrous Oxide is a greenhouse gas and Carbon Monoxide as well as the rest of the NOx family are secondary greenhouse gases. However, Pigeonblog is not a project about global warming. We’re mostly concerned about ground level pollution. NOx is a major contributor to the formation of ozone, acid rain and particulate matter. CO is invisible and without scent, while yet very harmful to human health. Please refer to the pollution section for more information.

Q: How did you build these devices?
A: We designed and built the devices ourselves. Please refer to the technology section for more information.

Q: You are mapping pollution, but you are also showing that the EPA is already doing the same. Isn’t this redundant?
A: No. The EPA is issuing very coarse maps with little information about particular neighborhoods. But most importantly, the way that our information is being collected differs significantly from the collection methods used by the EPA. We are using mobile measuring units and not stationary ones. Please refer to our statement to see the reason for this way of conducting measurements.

Q: I own racing pigeons and would like to use your devices for tracking purposes only.
A: While this is possible, we recommend that you use smaller data logging devices that don't require real-time transmission. Our devices are designed to be carried during short flights only (up to a hundred miles) and will loose battery power after that.

Q: While air pollution is an important topic, isn’t this rough on the birds?
A: No. Our backpacks have been designed not to exceed 10% of a pigeons total body weight (the recommended limit) and we are only flying the birds over short distances. We also observe our birds very closely and they seem to adapt quickly to our device.

Q: Can I use your board for other purposes?
A: Sure. Feel free to download our schematic and code and modify as you wish. Please note, that we can only provide occasional technical support. We all have full-time jobs and email requests can get quite overwhelming.

Q: I am working on a pollution project myself and am wondering what type of sensor you're using?
A: You can obtain information about the sensor from microchemical.com. Be warned though, the datasheet provided by this company is very poorly written and has cost us a lot of grief.. .

Q: I am very interested in Air Pollution and Environmental justice. Are you in contact with other environmentalist groups in California?
A: Not currently. Please let us know if you have any recommendations!