The Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ just released Our Air 2024, a three yearly report featuring data on air pollution levels and its impacts.
The report found that, while concentrations of various particulates had reduced, and overall air quality in Aotearoa had improved, air pollution had a much greater contribution to diseases and birth defects across the country than previously expected.
Oto spoke to Dr Joel Rindelaub, a senior lecturer in Chemical sciences at the University of Auckland, to discuss the report and the impacts of air pollution on the human body.
Last week also saw a study released around air pollution in Aotearoa, which found that Auckland faced significant air pollution risks. Traffic is the leading cause, with congestion and big vehicles as the largest causes. Over 700 people die annually from air pollution from traffic in Auckland, more than any other part of the country.
As the fuel crisis gets worse, some are seeing it as an opportunity to improve our country by becoming less reliant on petrol and cutting out unnecessary large vehicles from our big cities.
To discuss air pollution and the potential opportunities within the fuel crisis, News Director Castor spoke to the University of Auckland’s Professor Alistair Woodward.
Winter is coming, and so is a projected increase in respiratory illnesses and COVID cases. Schools are particularly notorious breeding grounds for such diseases with children being more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.
Ultimately, this results in teachers also being subject to COVID and respiratory illnesses at a higher rate than other professions, and an increased number of teachers leaving the profession due to long COVID symptoms is worsening Aotearoa’s already severe teacher shortage.
For this week’s Get Action! Oto spoke to Tara Forde from Aotearoa Covid Action, to discuss a petition of hers calling for the government to prevent the spread of COVID in our schools by making improvements to school air quality and improving accessibility to Booster Vaccines and Rapid Antigen Tests.
If you'd like to sign this petition, you can find it here:
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei joins The Wire host Amanda Jane Robinson to talk about the Greens' initial party list and the US air strikes in Syria.
This week on Neighbourhood Watch Tess catches up with Nicole Wedding about the latest news in Australia. Air missions over Syria have been suspended, Pauline Hanson is under fire over controversial comments about segregating kids with disabilities from mainstream classrooms and could Australia be losing the payphone for good? Find out here on this weeks podcast.
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