Dr. Gary Fuller on 'The Evolution of Air Pollution' - Part Two

EnviroHealth Podcast - Season 2, Episode 2: Dr. Gary Fuller on 'The Evolution of Air Pollution' - Part Two

Host Dr. Joseph Levermore continues his conversation with Dr. Gary Fuller, a clean air champion and senior lecturer in the Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London. In this second part, they explore modern air pollution challenges, the devastating health impacts across our entire lifespan, and the surprising truth about wood burning as a supposed green alternative.

Topics Covered:

• Global air quality crisis in rapidly industrialising nations like Lahore and New Delhi
• How air pollution affects us from foetal development through to dementia in old age
• The myth of "safe thresholds" - why there's no harmless level of air pollution
• Children in East London developing smaller lungs due to pollution exposure
• The WHO's innovative fifth percentile approach to setting achievable guidelines
• Wood burning: why it's terrible for both air quality and climate goals
• Environmental injustice and inequality in air pollution exposure
• The landmark case of Ella Kissi-Debra and air pollution's role in her death
• Ultra Low Emission Zones: dramatic 44% reductions in central London pollution
• Why 70 years after the Great Smog, we still haven't solved air pollution

Key Insights:

• Just 8% of UK homes using solid fuel produce more particle pollution than all vehicles on the road
• Burning wood creates more carbon emissions than fossil fuels for the same amount of heat
• Air pollution disproportionately affects the poorest communities who own fewer cars but live near busy roads
• London's pre-ULEZ trajectory showed it would take 193 years to meet legal air quality limits

Quotes: "It seems absolutely ridiculous that we're going to save the planet by burning the trees. No, no we're not."

"Why on earth are you and I still working in this field of science when 70 odd years ago we knew it was harmful? Why haven't we solved this problem?"

Credits:

• Host: Dr. Joseph Levermore
• Co-host: Steve Campbell
• Guest: Dr. Gary Fuller (Imperial College London)
• Executive Producer: Neil Japtha
• Production: EnviroHealth Podcast

Resources: Dr. Gary Fuller's book: The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat of Air Pollution and How We Fight Back

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