WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.200
- A quick warning:

2
00:00:01.210 --> 00:00:03.930
if you are good at
empathising with other people,

3
00:00:03.930 --> 00:00:07.200
this week's guest video may make you feel short
of breath.

4
00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.710
Seriously.

5
00:00:08.710 --> 00:00:11.330
With that out of the way,
let me introduce you to Kurtis Baute,

6
00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:15.140
filming from inside his
homemade, airtight biodome.

7
00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:16.760
Kurtis, good luck.

8
00:00:17.040 --> 00:00:18.320
- [takes breath]

9
00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:22.610
Just over eight hours ago,
I sealed myself inside of this cube.

10
00:00:22.610 --> 00:00:25.270
It is 10 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet,

11
00:00:25.270 --> 00:00:28.370
holds roughly 30,000 litres of air.

12
00:00:28.370 --> 00:00:31.650
I'm gonna try to make this
as short and sweet as I can

13
00:00:31.650 --> 00:00:37.710
because with every breath that I take
I am exhaling carbon dioxide,

14
00:00:37.710 --> 00:00:41.760
and it is toxic at high enough levels.

15
00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:46.760
Right now, it's at
6,370 parts per million.

100
00:00:46.760 --> 00:00:48.080
[takes breath]

17
00:00:48.080 --> 00:00:51.940
But to explain what that really means,
I'm gonna have to step back a second.

18
00:00:51.940 --> 00:00:55.410
Okay, I built this airtight,
plant-filled biodome

19
00:00:55.410 --> 00:00:57.630
for a series of videos on my channel

20
00:00:57.630 --> 00:01:00.350
about how we interact
with the air we breathe.

21
00:01:00.350 --> 00:01:02.430
I have a bunch of safety equipment,

22
00:01:02.430 --> 00:01:05.600
including oxygen and
carbon dioxide sensors

23
00:01:05.600 --> 00:01:09.280
and other gases and
backups and blood monitors

24
00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.680
and a paramedic onsite.

25
00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:13.440
Do not try this at home.

26
00:01:13.440 --> 00:01:14.860
It is...

27
00:01:14.860 --> 00:01:16.170
Just don't try it at home. [laughing]

28
00:01:16.170 --> 00:01:18.540
I wanna step back 60 years ago

29
00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:21.380
to when carbon dioxide
levels in our atmosphere

30
00:01:21.380 --> 00:01:23.990
were around 300 parts per million.

31
00:01:23.990 --> 00:01:28.460
Modern day, because of industrialization
and burning fossil fuels,

32
00:01:28.460 --> 00:01:31.110
those levels are now around
400 parts per million

33
00:01:31.110 --> 00:01:33.460
in natural landscapes.

34
00:01:33.460 --> 00:01:36.870
And in urban environments,
it's more like 500 parts per million.

35
00:01:36.870 --> 00:01:39.530
But the thing is, we spend
most of our time indoors,

36
00:01:39.530 --> 00:01:42.360
and that's often in
poorly-ventilated spaces

37
00:01:42.360 --> 00:01:46.270
where the carbon dioxide levels
can reach 1,000 parts per million.

38
00:01:46.270 --> 00:01:48.960
And what's important here
is that researchers have gone out

39
00:01:48.960 --> 00:01:52.100
and tested the higher-order
decision-making abilities

40
00:01:52.100 --> 00:01:56.430
of office employees at different
levels of carbon dioxide,

41
00:01:56.430 --> 00:01:59.800
and they found that at
1,000 parts per million,

42
00:01:59.800 --> 00:00:46.760
there is a 15% decrease
in cognitive function.

100
00:00:46.760 --> 00:00:48.080
[takes breath]

44
00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:08.120
That's a big deal because
we spend a lot of our time

45
00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:09.760
in those sorts of environments.

46
00:02:09.760 --> 00:02:12.320
For example, researchers went to schools

47
00:02:12.320 --> 00:02:14.520
in Texas, Idaho, and Washington,

48
00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:18.360
and they found that in over
50% of those classrooms,

49
00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:21.960
the carbon dioxide levels
went above 1,000 parts per million.

50
00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:26.080
In those same studies, they found
that when levels reached 1,400,

51
00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:29.800
there was a 50% decrease
in cognitive function.

52
00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:31.720
And by 2,000,

53
00:02:31.720 --> 00:02:34.960
there are all sorts of
side effects, [laughing]

54
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:38.780
which I am feeling a lot
of, including nausea,

55
00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:41.843
loss of attention, uh... [laughing]

56
00:02:43.175 --> 00:02:45.610
I have to read, I have to read them.

57
00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:50.212
Some people report headaches, sleepiness,
poor concentration, loss of attention,

58
00:02:50.212 --> 00:02:53.550
in- increased heart rate, and slight nausea.

59
00:02:53.550 --> 00:02:56.340
But still, these levels aren't uncommon.

60
00:02:56.340 --> 00:03:01.890
Carbon dioxide levels in bedrooms and cars
frequently reach 4,000 parts per million,

61
00:03:01.890 --> 00:03:05.360
and those are places that we
spend a lot of our time in.

62
00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:10.140
We used to use carbon dioxide
as an indicator for when air was stale,

63
00:03:10.140 --> 00:03:13.410
but it's actually probably
the most important part

64
00:03:13.410 --> 00:03:16.440
of what makes air stale.

65
00:03:16.440 --> 00:03:20.710
It's 6,500 parts per million
in here right now

66
00:03:20.710 --> 00:03:23.730
and the air feels thick.

67
00:03:23.730 --> 00:03:26.050
It is clouding my brain.

68
00:03:26.050 --> 00:03:31.330
It is making me do way more takes
in this video than I would've hoped.

69
00:03:31.330 --> 00:03:33.710
When we reach 10,000 parts per million,

70
00:03:33.710 --> 00:03:35.810
you're not supposed to
work an eight-hour day

71
00:03:35.810 --> 00:03:37.120
in an environment like that

72
00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:39.860
because it's probably bad
for your long-term health.

73
00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:42.180
You wouldn't want to be riding a motorcycle

74
00:03:42.180 --> 00:00:46.760
with that much carbon dioxide around you, but

100
00:00:46.760 --> 00:00:48.080
[takes breath]

76
00:03:45.720 --> 00:03:48.480
research shows that it's not uncommon

77
00:03:48.480 --> 00:03:52.870
for motorcycle helmets to have
carbon dioxide levels that are that high.

78
00:03:52.870 --> 00:03:56.460
And I cannot imagine being
impaired at this level

79
00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:57.860
and riding a motorcycle,

80
00:03:57.860 --> 00:03:59.970
let alone at 10,000 parts per million.

81
00:03:59.970 --> 00:04:04.270
Still, we have to go up quite a bit.
We have to go all the way up to 30,000

82
00:04:04.270 --> 00:04:09.270
before levels become extremely dangerous
and potentially deadly.

83
00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:13.020
Now, I have some bad news
and I have some good news.

84
00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:17.080
The bad news is that carbon dioxide levels
are going to go up.

85
00:04:17.080 --> 00:04:23.170
They might even reach 695 parts per million
by the end of the century.

86
00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:26.230
And that means that, globally,

87
00:04:26.230 --> 00:04:29.280
we could end up with something like a 10%

88
00:04:29.280 --> 00:04:35.240
or a 16% decrease in our
cognitive function as a species,

89
00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:38.080
and that's a big deal. [takes breath]

90
00:04:38.080 --> 00:04:44.300
The good news is that we
have the ability right now

91
00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:46.480
to change the environments
that we live in,

92
00:04:46.490 --> 00:04:48.550
both in terms of the overall climate

93
00:04:48.550 --> 00:00:46.760
and in terms of the stale
air spaces that we inhabit.

100
00:00:46.760 --> 00:00:48.080
[takes breath]

95
00:04:52.740 --> 00:04:57.480
So, you can go out and open
a window in your office.

96
00:04:58.200 --> 00:05:00.040
I don't have that luxury, but you can.

97
00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.700
You can get some plants in your house.

98
00:05:02.700 --> 00:05:04.960
You can make sure that your HVAC,

99
00:05:04.960 --> 00:00:46.760
your air ventilation systems
are up-to-date and functioning,

100
00:00:46.760 --> 00:00:48.080
[takes breath]

101
00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:13.710
and then you can use
that cognitive surplus,

102
00:05:13.710 --> 00:05:16.710
you can use that bonus to
your thinking abilities

103
00:05:16.710 --> 00:05:19.720
to try and find solutions
for climate change

104
00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:22.150
and how you can make a difference.

105
00:05:22.150 --> 00:05:25.014
Tom, thank you so much for having me.

106
00:05:25.014 --> 00:05:29.233
I'm gonna lie down and stop talking.

107
00:05:30.520 --> 00:05:32.390
- Thank you, Kurtis!
Go subscribe to his channel.

108
00:05:32.390 --> 00:05:34.770
You can start with his series
from inside his biodome

109
00:05:34.770 --> 00:05:36.440
or, if that is a bit much right now,

110
00:05:36.440 --> 00:05:41.020
I also recommend his one-take video
on the entire history of the universe.

111
00:05:41.020 --> 00:05:44.483
Next week is the final guest video,
and it's all about neuroscience.