Breathe: Seven Ways to Win a Greener World

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Because it's invisible. If you and I were sitting here in the 1950s, we would see the smog outside the window and we'd talk about it and what's causing it. But with air pollution today, you can't see it and you can't smell it. And that is the reason why with Rosamund’s permission I talk about Ella, because it humanises it.We all know someone who has asthma, if we don’t ourselves- you and I both have asthma. And my point is that if we had this same conversation 20 years ago that wouldn't be the case. So something has caused that, and what's caused that is the same thing causing climate change, which is air pollution. So we have got to talk about it, and I'm hoping to get the message and sense of urgency across by me telling my story. For too many grieving families in London, the urgency of our air quality crisis is painfully clear. That is why it I am proud to support the First Breath for Our Future Ancestor project which will help preserve Ella’s legacy. The memorial will not only serve as a powerful tribute to the life of a much-missed young Londoner but will also help educate others about the dangers of toxic air.” To help reduce pollution and improve the air that we breathe in Tower Hamlets, we’ve introduced the Breathe Clean campaign to reduce the impact of idling engines, installed seven air quality sensors across the borough, increased the amount of cycling hangers and planted over 740 of our goal of 1,000 trees across the borough.”

of London’s most polluted hospitals have been awarded Breathe London air quality sensors and later this year other hospitals will have the option to buy in to the network at a subsidised cost.Editorial director Rowan Borchers said Breathe would be “both an intriguing inside account of life in City Hall, and a warm and practical guide to green politics”.

London’s network of air quality sensors is continuing to grow with an additional 131 air quality sensors set to be installed at hospitals, schools and other priority locations making it easier for all Londoners to access reliable, localised, real-time air quality data A recent study by Imperial’s researchers (January 2021) shows that the Mayor’s air quality policies will help increase the average life expectancy of a child born in London by six months: /WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/health-burden-air-pollution-london Alex Williams, TfL’s Chief Customer and Strategy Officer, said: ”Expanding the ULEZ is vital for public health in this city. We know that there are more deaths that are attributed to toxic air in the city’s outer boroughs and that bringing in these world leading standards over a larger area will see millions more breathing cleaner air. Our experience of these schemes shows that they work, with significant reductions in pollution since the first zone was introduced in 2019.If I told you that your house was burning down, it would be illogical for you not to take action, right? And our planet is burning basically, so it's illogical for people not to take action. We've realised over the last few years that people haven't had a sense of urgency, and it's because it's been happening slowly over a long period of time. You mention the IPCC findings, but there have been a number of examples of equally worrying reports from experts where there hasn't been a sense of urgency. Just remember the 41°C temperatures last summer - people were literally overheating. Last year's wildfires led to the London Fire Brigade being the busiest it’s been since the Blitz. The year before we had flash flooding, where a number of our stations and tens of thousands of homes were flooded. We had massive floods in the Lake District in 2009 that at the time were called “floods of Biblical proportions” - they happen every two years now. So, it’s timely, but we could argue that it’s been timely for the last 5/ 10/ 15 years.But the point is, there is still a chance for us to do something about it.