Aaron Ansel

Over the last couple of years, wildfire smoke has gotten pretty bad in Seattle, and much worse in California. On some days the air quality has been bad enough that even healthy adults should stay inside or wear a mask, and even more so for children and older adults. One day I thought I was having a heart attack when I got to work, only to realize it was the air pollution. Besides the...

Cool concept, but seems extremely ambitious. How do you draw the line between the select few scams worth reporting and the millions of everyday scams you encounter daily as a traveler?

For this calculator, I wanted to spread awareness that filters with higher ratings generally make your lungs work harder to draw air through filtering material, which can be dangerous for sensitive groups, especially if you have a pre-existing pulmonary or respiratory condition. Living in Seattle, I feel that this is important. In fact, less powerful filters can sometimes work just as well as...