Wu Wei

@ingrid I feel like many people used to buy new cell phones every 2 years because (a) there were actually big upgrades every year in network speed, memory, battery life, screen and camera quality, etc., and (b) because phone upgrades were more enticing, more people were on network plans where you got a "free" (or steeply discounted) phone every time you signed a 2-3 year contract, which meant that every couple of years your contract would expire and you'd get a new "free" phone when you renewed it (or switched carriers). What this headline should say is something like "Phone Sales Decline Due to Technological Stagnation and Reduced Subsidies from Carrier Contracts". But then they would have to consider the possibility that tech companies are no longer innovative enough to convince people to take on debt or get locked into an expensive contract just to get the latest iPhone. And the possibility that Silicon Valley has lost its edge is too scary, so it's easier to blame consumers' feelings instead.

@aimee It is wacky to say that people "could be working from home right now" when obviously most commuters have no choice. That said, ground-level ozone is actually a problem! In the amounts generated by cars, it damages peoples lungs and shortens their lifespans, especially in cities like Denver where atmospheric conditions tend to concentrate pollution near the ground.. But I don't think this seems like the right way to solve that.

@lystopad I've also been baffled by that. I guess, charitably, that the goal is to influence people who already have hybrid work arrangements where they can choose to work from home some days, and to get them to avoid driving on days when atmospheric conditions are such that smog/ozone pollution is likely to be especially bad. But that feels like such a niche situation. "You could be working from home right now" is not true for most people who see this ad placed on the back of the bus.

@vaporeon_ I had the same thought. The idea seems to be that if you're a hybrid worker who decides what days you go to the office, they want you to sign up for ozone alerts that tell you when there's likely to be a bad ozone day and tell you to stay home. Buuuut... it seems like the number of commuters who are in that situation is probably pretty small. And the number who would change which days they go to work purely due to an ozone alert is even smaller. So it doesn't really make sense to me.

@rolenthedeep Ozone is not directly emitted in car exhaust, but it is produced by photochemical reactions involving gasses that *are* produced by combustion engines, such as nitrous oxides. As a result, it is present in significant quantities anywhere where there is a large amount of car exhaust or similar fossil fuel emissions encountering sunlight. Especially in cities like Denver with high amounts of UV radiation and frequent meteorological inversions that trap gasses near ground level. Since ozone is fairly toxic, this is a pretty significant public health issue.

@HisNameIsOx I know it's running in the Denver area, because that's where I took this pic myself yesterday. Though I'm not totally sure why they act like it's the commuters who need to be convinced, rather than their bosses. The overall goal of the campaign is to reduce ozone pollution, especially on smoggy days.

@lettosprey They are actually lion paws I think? Got little claws.