Question: What is the best thing you have ever 'SEEN' in your crystal ball?

Sarah Bardsley answered on 24 Jun 2010:

Hmmm – I ‘see’ quite a few environmental problems which can be a bit depressing. But also I see some fantastic initiatives. One trend which could have a massive impact is called personal environmental monitoring.

Some scientists are looking to put sensors that can detect pollution into mobile phones. So everyday people can monitor their own environment and we can collectively collect real-time data on the environment and share it on the internet. This would be massively exciting. So a surfer could use their phone and sensor to test the ocean before they got in. Uploading their results to the internet, they could inform other beach users that their local beach was clean or, if it wasn’t, let them know to stay away, preventing health problems.

Or an asthma suffer could carry their sensor phone which would alert them if they were in an area of high pollution. They could then leave this area helping to prevent breathing problems.

Personal environmental monitoring could better inform the Environment Agency and help switch people on to environmental issues. Would you like one of these sensors in your phone?