Tis the season to be the indoor air quality monitoring nerd at the holiday party

My Life in the Zombie Apocalypse - Comic #3

Neoclassic pillars, holiday lights and a goat

I was over the late-November moon when I learned that the Governor of Colorado and the First Gentleman were opening the historic Boettcher Governor’s Mansion to supporters of Colorado’s beloved Broken Shovels Farm Animal Sanctuary. Broken Shovels’ outdoor snuggle days have been pivotal in getting local animal enthusiasts through pandemic isolation. It is a safe outdoor space for humans, also.

Interacting with goats, sheep, pigs, lamas and other farm rescues that have either been abandoned and/or rescued from abusive living conditions is always a refreshing reset for my over-analytical mind. Moreover, the early pandemic surge of pet adoptions has made the need for a space like this that more dire. Unfortunately, a lot of pets who got adopted during lockdown ended up getting abandoned when lockdowns ended. This made the “Goats at the Governors Mansion” holiday party, an event organized for purposes of helping the organization taking these animals in, the right thing at the right time.

Long time Immunocompromised Times readers know that I also happen to be immunocompromised due a medication I take to manage Crohn’s disease, I select the in-person events I attend judiciously. Like month’s interfaith vigil at Reelworks I knew it would be worth showing up for. Once again, the challenge was finding a way to do it safely. Here’s what happened:

Omicron, Evusheld and updating my COVID-cautious arsenal

Initially loathe to invest, I had opted for a cheaper co2 monitor earlier this year but found it clunky. Now, galvanized by the news about Evusheld not working against the new Omicron sub variants I had waited for a promotional price drop then ordered a Aranet4 by mail with the intention of turning it into a mainstay of my COVID-cautious toolkit. It fits in pockets and small handbags along side my portable hand sanitizer and N95s

High ceilings and an Aranet4

After hanging up my coat and scarf, I headed to the cocktail bar to the left of the grand stairway. My handheld registered 500 ppm (parts per million) in the cocktail area. Although meant to be a differential tool, this is usually interpreted as a healthy number. Especially considering the fact there were two bartenders at the bar, several people lined up for drinks and others mulling around the peripheries. A likely testament to the high ceilings. Because of this first reading I expected the number to hover below 900 for the duration of the evening. I was in for a surprise.

With crowd clustered around the neoclassic pillars and leaned in to hear the speakers in the half rotunda I glanced at my co2 handheld again. The ppm number had shot up to 1,560 and was even pushing 2000 at times!!!

Updates to the original draft of this article

The original draft was structured as an open letter to the Governor of Colorado. A bold move, given the fact I was not only critiquing the ventilation in his home but going on to propose a panel followed by a hands-on STEM workshop involving Denver Public Schools.

Ultimately I realized the event I proposed in this open letter ——-which got a warm and supportive response from local COVID-cautious readers who encouraged me to turn it into a petition—— would be too much to take on while I am trying to just continue posting three high quality Substack article a month.

I also wanted to point out that according to Melanie Asmar’s June 2022 article in Chalkbeat, some of these efforts are being implemented with designated federal funds. This doesn’t mean hosting a Corsi-Rosenthal box makers workshop for Denver Public Schools would not be relevant as a hands-on DIY project or that including indoor air monitoring education in the K-12 curriculum isn’t a good idea but it would, for starters, require more than petitioning. Teams with relevant expertise would be needed to evaluate how federal funds intended for ventilation upgrades were spent and then assess whether or not the upgrades resulted in improved air quality.

Perhaps the most viable of the suggestions made in the earlier draft was indoor air quality panel at Governor’s Mansion featuring Professor at CU Boulder, Jose-Luis Jimenez DU science and math Professor, Alex Huffman and CU Boulder Engineering Professor Shelley Miller. Since Biden hosted an indoor air quality at the White House in October 2022 the idea of an event like this already has some context and street cred in place.

Finally, the Denver Public Library Central Branch has about five Aranet4 monitors available for cardholders to check out and there is a more than 100 person waiting list for them. People needing the monitors to plan large family holiday gatherings need to place their holds in the summertimes at this rate. Expanding the supply of indoor air quality monitoring instruments would not require state or municipal but county government support and I hope this is something Denver Public Libraries —-as well as other libraries in the state— consider incorporating into their 2023 budget.

My own Aranet4 was an out-of-pocket expense that set me back over $200 and not everyone can make this kind of investment. Library patrons wanting to check out co2 monitors could also be given instruction manuals and training on how to use them like the one Toronto Public Libraries provide.

Speaking of indoor air quality monitoring, if you use a handheld co2 meter to capture ventilation data in your own community please share post the results in the comments section