A warning from the sky

Air pollution. Source: Arysports.tv


Those who believe cycling across London is safe as long as they wear a bike helmet and use cycle routes, may think twice.

Each year in the UK around 40,000 deaths are attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution which pays a role in many of the major health challenges of our day, according to a report published last April by the Royal College of Physicians.

And it equally affects cyclists and pedestrians.

Air pollution can cause both short term and long term illnesses and has been linked to cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and changes linked to dementia. In the UK, these costs add up to more than £20 billion every year (Royal College of Physicians).

No wonder that many people are concerned about pollution in the air that they breathe, then.

Protesters gathered in central London last Spring, stating that ‘Britain has the highest level of Nitrogen Dioxide in Europe and levels in London are even worse’, which did not come as a surprise, though.

They marched in an attempt to induce the government to produce a new plan to clean up Britain’s air.

Nitrogen Dioxide, however, is not the only threat to our lungs. There is a whole bunch of silent killers in the air which are a menace to each and every citizen, with particular regard to those already affected by heart or lung conditions.

Air pollution is made up of a mixture of gases and particles that have been released into the atmosphere by man-made processes and such emissions are typically from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, petrol or diesel.

Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide and Hydrocarbons are probably the most well-known pollutants, but the list goes on. Moreover, each of them has a different chemical behaviour and therefore various consequences on health, reason why a throughout understanding and control of air pollution as a whole is quite complex.

Renewable energy certainly is an appropriate answer to the problem.

However, is the Government actually implementing measures to generate energy from the sunlight, wind, rain tides, wave and geochemical heat?

Data recently published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, reveal that renewable electricity capacity has recorded a 11.8 per cent increase during the first 4 months of 2016 compared to the same period last year.

Solar photovoltaic showed a whopping 41 per cent increase, followed by the generation from bioenergy, which reached 8.3 TWh (an increase of 18 per cent compared to the first four months of 2015).

The total wind generation decreased by 2.5 per cent, instead (Energy Trends section 6: renewables).

The UK is however still far from the 2020 target to meet 15 per cent of energy needs from renewable sources. Despite these targets having been set under the EU’s renewable energy plan and the recent Brexit vote, ministers are still required to meet them.

Meanwhile, we will continue reading about air pollution being at record levels in the city of London and asthmatic children wearing monitors to track levels of smog on way to school, aware that the list of problems caused by air pollution does not end here.