{"id":1579,"date":"2022-02-22T05:00:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T05:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purposecapital.co.nz\/?p=1579"},"modified":"2022-04-14T04:12:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T04:12:39","slug":"air-pollution-a-far-deadlier-killer-than-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purposecapital.co.nz\/air-pollution-a-far-deadlier-killer-than-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Pollution: A Far Deadlier Killer Than COVID-19?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” top_divider_height=”0px” top_divider_arrangement=”above_content” bottom_divider_height=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”0|0px|27px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.7″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” link_option_url_new_window=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”]Fossil fuels pollute the earth \u2013 So what? It\u2019s normal… Right?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of us understand that fossil fuels have a dramatic negative impact on the environment and are accelerators of climate change<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However<\/span>, <\/span>many of us fail to comprehend the urgency and enormity of the problems fossil fuels cause<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As humans it\u2019s hard for us to judge the absolute, we need contrast and think in relative terms to get a <\/span>sense & feel for issues<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sir Jonathon Porritt<\/span><\/a>, a world renown environmentalist & Chair of the Air New Zealand Sustainability Advisory Panel, recently focused in on one of the most insidious problems caused by fossil fuels, health issues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a problem that\u2019s been normalised, ignored, and doesn\u2019t receive a lot of airtime<\/span>.<\/span> Sir Jonathon <\/span>reminds us of the health problems that fossil fuel air pollution creates and provides context to the magnitude of the problem (excerpts from his <\/span>article<\/span><\/a> italicised<\/span><\/i> below).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\nAs of 27 April 2021, \u201c<\/span>Fifteen months into the pandemic, we\u2019ve all got a rough sense of the human toll in terms of number of cases and deaths \u2013 in the UK and the world. It\u2019s not the kind of information we want assaulting our minds, but it\u2019s all but impossible to avoid.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We find it so much easier to avoid equally \u2013 if not more \u2013 shocking data on the human toll caused by other health crises<\/span><\/i>. Around three million people have died of COVID-19 over the last 15 months; according to the latest research, around eleven million have died of air pollution related directly to the burning of fossil fuels.<\/span><\/i><\/b> That\u2019s one in five of all deaths during that time<\/span><\/i><\/b>; in China and India, it\u2019s closer to one in three.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the truly shocking evidence from a new study (published in the journal Environmental Research in February), carried out by Harvard, UCL, Birmingham and Leicester Universities.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the number that\u2019s shocking. It\u2019s the relative invisibility of those affected. The trauma and lasting loss for families and friends of those who die in this way is no less than for those coping with the death of a loved one from COVID-19. But somehow, we\u2019ve normalised it, back-burnered it to the extent that we don\u2019t have to engage emotionally.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Only rarely is this all-but-invisible killer brought into the public eye, as happened with the death in 2013 of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, a nine-year-old girl who lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham. The Coroner\u2019s finding was devastatingly clear: \u2018I will conclude that Ella died of asthma, contributed to by exposure to excessive air pollution.\u2019<\/i><\/span> \u201c<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Link to full article: Air Pollution – A Far Deadlier Killer Than COVID-19 by Jonathon Porritt<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\nTo get the point across<\/span>, <\/span>I sometimes explain the link between the combustion of fossil fuels and air pollution <\/span>\/<\/span> health problems to people like this: <\/span>\u201c<\/span>You wouldn\u2019t wrap your mouth around the exhaust of a petrol or diesel car because it will literally kill you… Therefore, you don\u2019t need to be a rocket scientist to extrapolate the effect that the combustion of fossil fuels have on the air quality of the atmosphere & thus effects on human health\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sir Jonathon\u2019s article stresses the importance of New Zealand needing to electrify our transport sector and transition our energy sector away from fossil fuels<\/span>. \u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New Zealand has acted with urgency in responding to the covid-19 crisis; why aren\u2019t we acting with the same, or higher, level of urgency in responding to the current & impending environmental crises?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in taking action and making a change,<\/span> check out<\/span> resources such as <\/span>Project Drawdown | Solutions<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>Regeneration.Org<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> but most importantly<\/span>,<\/span> take action.<\/span> Feel free to reach out to <\/span>nick@purposecapital.co.nz<\/span><\/a> if you\u2019d like to discuss ways in which<\/span> your business \/ organisation<\/span> can reduce your<\/span> environmental footprint<\/span> – <\/span>we\u2019re serious about helping drive environmental change within our community<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

<\/h6>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Purpose Capital<\/a> is an impact investment fund whose mission is to drive social and environmental change. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Your feedback and responses to this post can contribute to that discourse and we encourage you to \u202f<\/span><\/span>get in touch<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have an investable opportunity that will\u202fcreate systemic change and deliver intentional social and\/or environmental <\/span>impact<\/span> click the button below to get in touch<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.purposecapital.co.nz\/seeking-investment\/” button_text=”I’m Seeking Investment” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

<\/h6>\n

Alternatively<\/span>, if you\u2019re an investor<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>you can register your interest in co-investing with us and investing in our second Fund<\/span> <\/span>below<\/span>.\u202f<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.purposecapital.co.nz\/investments\/” button_text=”Invest with Purpose Capital” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.14.7″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fossil fuels pollute the earth \u2013 So what? It\u2019s normal… Right?\u00a0 Most of us understand that fossil fuels have a dramatic negative impact on the environment and are accelerators of climate change.\u00a0\u00a0 However, many of us fail to comprehend the urgency and enormity of the problems fossil fuels cause.\u00a0\u00a0 As humans it\u2019s hard for us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAir Pollution: A Far Deadlier Killer Than COVID-19?\u00a0 – Purpose Capital<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eleven million people died of air pollution related directly to the burning of fossil fuels over the fifteen months prior late April 2021.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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