Friday, March 18, 2011

Polluted Air and Poor Health in UK Cities


Air pollution[/caption]

Former banker's pollution fight a breath of fresh air (Hélène Mulholland, Guardian, Feb. 22, 2011)

Also discussed here: Campaign for Clean Air in London

And here: Environmental Audit Committee - Fifth Report - Air Quality (UK House of Commons, Mar. 16, 2010)

And here: The Mortality Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution in the United Kingdom (108 page pdf, Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, Jun.18, 2009)

And here: Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution: Effect on Mortality (196 page pdf, Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, Jun.18, 2009)

And here: UK Action on Air Pollution (Polluton Free Cities, Mar. 26, 2010)

Today’s article describes efforts by a former banker, Simon Birkett, who took up efforts to pressure his government to take further action on clean air. He did this after reading critical and authoritative reports that the impact of air pollution on health in urban areas was underestimated or worse (as in many Canadian cities) ignored. The result is a lack of monitoring and assessment on the one hand, or corrective regulation and behaviour changing fees, such as congestion pricing, are slow to come. That said, the UK is easily a decade ahead of the US and Canada (in my humble opinion) in taking on the challenges of urban air quality as it affects health because of its early adoption of

Air Quality Management Areas and Low Emission Zones (LEZ). We need to listen to Birkett who recently published a very useful action list Take 10 steps for Clean Air in London (3 page pdf, Campaign For Clean Air In London, Feb. 23, 2011).
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