[SUBMITTED] Government And CO

[Nation of Quebec]

[title]Government And CO

[desc]Earlier this week, several people were sickened by carbon monoxide poisoning while waiting in a long line at a government office in downtown @@CAPITAL@@. Fortunately nobody was killed, but the incident has prompted calls for the government to install carbon monoxide detectors in its buildings and better regulate safety standards.

[validity]All

[option]"The government should be thanking it's lucky stars that there were no permanent injuries," notes government lawyer, @@RANOMNAME@@, who is relieved that nobody has decided to sue yet. "In order to abate public outcry, we need to make sure this doesn't happen again. We must install carbon monoxide detectors in every single government building in @@NAME@@, and provide government employees with the proper safety training. It may be a bit of an expense, but surely that beats a class action lawsuit, yes?"
[effect]people accuse the government of being in bed with Big Safety

[option]"Why stop at government buildings? These detectors should be installed everywhere!" enthuses your worrywort Public Safety Minister, after checking the various detectors in your office. "We need to install these detectors in schools, places of business, and even people's homes. Carbon monoxide is a threat that needs to be taken seriously. Some people may not like this being mandatory, but safety knows no price tag. After all, people spend hundreds of @@CURRENCY@@s on home security systems. The only thing that's different is that we're offering this free of charge."
[effect]conspiracy theorists allege that the government is spying on them through their carbon monoxide detectors

[option]"So once again the government is trying to solve a problem it created," complains anti-government conspiracy theorist, @@RANDOMNAME@@, setting off your sarcasm detector. "The last thing we need is the government going into people's homes and installing these things. For all we know you're planting listening devices in them! If the people want these detectors, they'll go out and buy them themselves. How about the government sticks its big nose out of things for once?"
[effect]one of the biggest killers in @@NAME@@ can't even be seen

[options]"Sounds like the problem is the buildings, not some gas," chimes in contractor @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Have you seen the state of some of these buildings? The Public Affairs building is older than you are! We need to tear down these decrepit monstrosities, and replace them with new technological marvels that can eliminate poisonous gasses before they're a threat! Will it be expensive and inconvenient? Yes, but think of how fancy and safe your new office will be!"
[effect]@@LEADER@@'s new office is the envy of many foreign leaders in @@REGION@@

[Australian rePublic]

Nice issue but,

|Just curious, how does carbon monoxide get into buildings?

Also, there is a law in Australia, that says all new houses (I don't know about other buildings) must be built with a fire alarm, but old buildings don't have to be retrofitted. I wonder if that could work as an option

[A Humanist Resurrection]

Just curious, how does carbon monoxide get into buildings?

Faulty natural gas burners (in appliance pilot lights, propane lamp lighting, oven and stove burners, hot water heaters). Large vehicles (delivery trucks, etc) left running right outside open windows or ventilation system intakes. In some volcanic areas, you just need to put your building in a relatively low-lying spot of land.

Went camping in California once, and the local topographical map had hundreds of little red zones marked on it where if you lie down long enough to sleep, it'll probably be permanent. And if you smell rotten eggs, you're probably having a bad day.

[Australian rePublic]

Just curious, how does carbon monoxide get into buildings?

Faulty natural gas burners (in appliance pilot lights, propane lamp lighting, oven and stove burners, hot water heaters). Large vehicles (delivery trucks, etc) left running right outside open windows or ventilation system intakes. In some volcanic areas, you just need to put your building in a relatively low-lying spot of land.

Went camping in California once, and the local topographical map had hundreds of little red zones marked on it where if you lie down long enough to sleep, it'll probably be permanent. And if you smell rotten eggs, you're probably having a bad day.

I see

[A Humanist Resurrection]

[desc]Earlier this week, several people were sickened by carbon monoxide poisoning while waiting in a long line at a government office in downtown @@CAPITAL@@. Fortunately nobody was killed, but the incident has prompted calls for the government to install carbon monoxide detectors in its buildings and better regulate safety standards.

Anyway, only suggestion I've got at the moment is to describe where the CO came from to begin with. If government was negligent in keeping its natural gas powered listening devices properly cleaned and maintained, it might play into option three a bit better ("government created this problem to begin with!").

[Trotterdam]

Anyway, only suggestion I've got at the moment is to describe where the CO came from to begin with. If government was negligent in keeping its natural gas powered listening devices properly cleaned and maintained, it might play into option three a bit better ("government created this problem to begin with!").

Of course, this would lead to someone suggesting that if you just installed better burners (or electric heating, etc.) that are certified to not produce carbon monoxide to begin with, you wouldn't need to bother with detectors which can only alert you to a problem after it's already halfway to too late. That's kinda what the last option in the current draft sounds like, but not exactly.

[A Humanist Resurrection]

Of course, this would lead to someone suggesting that if you just installed better burners (or electric heating, etc.) that are certified to not produce carbon monoxide to begin with, you wouldn't need to bother with detectors which can only alert you to a problem after it's already halfway to too late. That's kinda what the last option in the current draft sounds like, but not exactly.

All natural gas burners produce CO, since you're burning hydrocarbons. Dirty gunked up burners lead to inefficient/incomplete combustion, and thus potentially dramatically more CO production. But there is no such thing as "certified not to produce" in this area. The best you can do is "produced so slowly, natural air circulation can more than handle it (but you should have detectors in every room anyway, or you're asking for it)."

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Anyway, only suggestion I've got at the moment is to describe where the CO came from to begin with. If government was negligent in keeping its natural gas powered listening devices properly cleaned and maintained, it might play into option three a bit better ("government created this problem to begin with!").

To my mind, this level of extra detail is the sort of thing that can make an issue more unwieldy / less readable without making it any more entertaining. Sometimes it's best to keep it simple, and to not explain every bit of background. Of course, a sense of story is always nice, so if the explanation for why there's a CO excess can be done in a way that evokes an amusing mental image or funny story, then that works.

[A Humanist Resurrection]

To my mind, this level of extra detail is the sort of thing that can make an issue more unwieldy / less readable without making it any more entertaining. Sometimes it's best to keep it simple, and to not explain every bit of background. Of course, a sense of story is always nice, so if the explanation for why there's a CO excess can be done in a way that evokes an amusing mental image or funny story, then that works.

It should of course be amusing or funny. But deciding what to do about a building full of CO sort of implies/requires knowing why its full of CO. Not really a matter of explaining every bit, so much as explaining more than just "something totally random happened today."

The author only really needs to add "due to a malfunctioning central heater" or something similar.

[Nation of Quebec]

I think I'd prefer to leave out the scientific detail for this issue and keep it so that the layperson can understand it.