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The pressing need for a drastic change in the quality of air in Beijing – the home of Formula E in China – has been graphically brought to life by an artist known as Brother Nut.
Armed with an industrial vacuum cleaner, Nut spent four hours a day for 100 days walking the streets of Beijing, passing the famous Birds Nest Arena, where the Beijing ePrix takes place, during his tour. After 100 days he had collected 100 grams of dust and smog, which he baked into a brick by mixing it with clay.
“It’s not healthy. You have nowhere to hide. It is in the air and all around us,” Nut told The Guardian. "The more we pursue and dig for resources, the more dust we will produce. When all the world's resources are exhausted one day, we will end up with becoming real dust ourselves.”
The creation of the smog brick came at a significant time in Beijing, as the Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Index hit its all-time highest figure. According to data from the U.S State Department Air Quality Monitoring Program, the index read over 500 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) - the World Health Organisations ‘safe levels’ for PM2.5 levels is 25 ug/m3!
At Formula E, we are committed to the improvement of air quality in cities through the development and promotion of Electric Vehicles, sustainable mobility and clean energy. Formula E, alongside our partners, serves as a framework to showcase new sustainable technologies and to address important contemporary environmental issues to a global audience.