IdRW 2014: 'Creating the Right Atmosphere: Why it Matters for Public Health' introduced by The Vice Chancellor, Professor Don Nutbeam Event

Creating the right atmosphere: why it matters for public health

Speakers: Dr Tracey Newman, Professor Guy Poppy and Dr Matt Loxham

All land dwelling species interact with airborne chemistry on a minute by minute basis, and there is now a growing recognition of the need to control airborne emissions from a number of anthropogenic sources. Whilst we are all aware of the risks of smog, we are less aware of the effects of other pollution events on our daily lives. This short series of talks will demonstrate how research being led in Southampton, is revealing the impact of pollutants on human health, and the public health agenda that this highlights. In a big city environment, is the underground a better option than walking beside traffic congested roadways? As well as the direct impact of one mode of transport (the underground) on human health, we explore the effects on one of the key pollinator species in the UK. The honeybee not only directly influences the crop production of plants that deliver essential macro and micro nutrients to human health, it also provides an ideal indicator species for the study of the impact, on both humans and our planet's ecology, of industrialization and our choice of fuel sources.