It’s not just electricity. There are dozens of startups out there with devices trying to measure indoor or outdoor air quality. Tzoa is trying to get consumers to strap on a sensor to measure outdoor air quality, while other startups such as Canary, Birdi, Withings Home video camera, and Cube Sensors all have products aimed at ensuring the indoor air quality is safe. Clearly, hackers aren’t the only ones being empowered to understand what’s happening in their environment.
So, as cheap, connected sensors proliferate, a culture of making and experimenting expands, and civic groups embrace both attributes to start testing the world around them, more consumers will have the tools they need to tell if companies are lying. For those who are damaging the environment, they could find themselves having some sticky conversations.