If air pollution is deforming sperm, will men finally take it seriously? | Jenny Jones

Links between pollution and other conditions are already proven. Maybe the heterosexual men who run the world might pay attention this time

• Jenny Jones is a former chair of the Green party

There is nothing like the image of deformed sperm to grab the attention of male politicians. The tentative link between male fertility and pollution has been put forward by medics in China and in a world where heterosexual men still make most of the decisions, I hope it makes pollution a personal priority for a few of them. It’s only one bit of research, among hundreds of more definitive studies into proven health conditions linked to pollution, but the world may become a slightly better place as a result.

When I was first elected to the London Assembly 17 years ago, we were told that air pollution was yesterday’s issue and the technological solutions were rolling off the production line. I wasn’t convinced and argued that we needed to change our lifestyles by driving less, but very few in the media, or politics, saw this as a priority. That changed as the medical evidence mounted and the technological fix failed to deliver. The number of premature deaths linked to air pollution escalated dramatically, with links to heart disease, dementia, type 2 diabetes, kidney failure, autism, as well as asthma. Air pollution kills, but still we drive.

Related: Too right it's Black Friday: our relentless consumption is trashing the planet | George Monbiot

Continue reading... November 23, 2017 at 07:01PM