Even clean rooms don’t stay clean because great apes are not clean, and they have to work in the space. So even the best spaces aren’t fool proof which is why lab teks wear masks and other equipment.
But yeah, work well enough to keep kids etc from being sick, would require lab level air filtration to make a difference. And we’d probably still have to dress the kids up like lab nerds even with lab level filters and fans.
Even a cheap HEPA filter is good enough to filter COVID.
But, all contaminated air has to actually go through the filter.
This means you need to do several full air exchanges in the required space per hour really if you want to keep people from getting sick. Like a laboratory clean room would do.
And setting up that level of HEPA filtration, is fucking expensive.
I built a very small flowhood for mycology. The filter was $200. The fan another $80. And I’m only keeping a one x two space clean. I imagine it’s just not economical to really apply this technology to schools etc at this point in time.
Mycelium etc. I’m mostly an amateur. Grow edibles for my partner and I and sell/share with friends and neighbors.
I can dig up some good podcasts. If you search your favorite podcast service for queer mycology you can learn some interesting things about fungi in a couple of hours :)
I would suggest a series of short stories if you like the setting and are enjoying writing it.
I think something more relatable might get the solar punk message across. I only dipped into the short story you posted and it felt more fantasy than near future sci-fi.
And tbh, I opened it more because I’m a mushroom and sci-fi/fantasy nerd and saw your post in the sci-fi sub.
I generally only lurk here out of interest in urban mycology/farming
Could be that they’re not measuring substance abuse but the viability of smoked weed as a pain medication in people over 65.
My dad has heart and lung issues and I encouraged him to quit smoking and be mindful with the edibles. THC does bind to receptors in the heart and it is concerning with his health, regardless of consumption method.
CBD is relatively safe but can have drug interactions too because of liver substrate inhibition preventing other medication from being metabolized.
A lot of reasons to not assume weed is safe in 65 year olds who often eat a handful of other meds every day.