Malcolm Rands: What's good for the climate is also good for our health

Conversations about climate change and emissions levels are taking place all over the country by people of all age groups.

However, from where I sit, the biggest gap is the lack of discussion around the bigger issue - that the failure to reduce carbon emissions will spell a health catastrophe.

Perhaps this sounds dramatic to some, but a recent article in the New Zealand Medical Journal argued for a much tougher climate change policy than our Government has adopted. These members of our medical profession suggest that mitigating climate change will have positive effects on public health such as significant reductions in heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Cleaning up the air quality will have an immediate effect on our largest city. Poor air quality caused by high levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide are particularly bad for asthmatics, and can result in respiratory disease, cancer and other illnesses.

The air quality in Auckland causes more than 400 people to die prematurely every year and the associated costs for treating these illnesses across the region equates to $1.3 billion a year.

New Zealand has the second highest prevalence of asthma in the world, after Britain, with one in six people suffering from the condition. Asthma medications account for around $60 million of the $803 million annual pharmaceutical budget and asthma is the most common reason for people going to hospital.

Consider too that these rates of hospital admission have doubled in the last 30 years and it doesn't take much to see the sheer scale of this issue.

Surely these figures demonstrate the opportunity that exists for each and every one of us to take charge of our own health footprint. It's about doing what we can and realising that small steps count. We can all make an effort to reduce air pollution by getting out of our cars and walking to work or encouraging our children to take the walking school bus.

Talking of commuting, the recent Auckland bus strike forced many to walk or bike to work and I'll bet they are feeling better for it. If all those who live less than 5km from work or school walked more often, we would save the equivalent of 22 million litres of petrol a year. A healthier heart, planet and bank balance.

What is good for the climate is good for our health - using our cars less and getting more exercise, with a low carbon diet of less meat, will amount to less cancer, obesity and heart disease.

There are many other solutions that we can implement to strengthen our immune systems and this can start in our backyard by growing our own organic veges and composting - back to the basics in effect.

Eating organic vegetables that haven't been sprayed with pesticides or fungicides and avoiding chemical products to clean ourselves and our homes is another way to look after our health.

Chemical pollution is a serious environmental issue and it may surprise some to know that up to 40 per cent of families put up with allergy issues every day related to chemicals.

And for those who are over the so-called "tree-hugging" behaviour, it may help to think about the impetus behind these changes as creating a better environment for you and your family - one with less air pollution and chemicals causing allergen exposure. At the end of the day, tackling climate change is something we can all do at an individual level.

Ahead of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen next month there have been indications that the implications of climate change on health will be discussed. International doctors from around the world want Governments to consider how to implement strategies that will benefit the health of communities worldwide.

Our Government needs to go further with its climate change policy and face these issues head-on. The consequences of not cutting our greenhouse gas emissions will mean more health costs, extreme climate change affecting atmospheric chemistry and agricultural yields that feed us yet worsen air pollution.

We can make changes in our own lives but the Government does need to lead the call to change itself.

In my opinion, it's not only our physical health that is being adversely affected by all this talk of doom and gloom in regard to climate change, there's also our mental wellbeing to consider.

Rather than being paralysed by fear anticipating the end of the world, we need to look at solutions and consider the benefits of looking after our natural environment and the community we live in.

Taking it upon ourselves to take action and make changes is part of the solution. It's not a case of saving the environment for the environment's sake, but considering how a cleaner world will be better for the health of you and your family. And it's one less thing to worry about in our overly stressful lives.

* Malcolm Rands is the founder of ecostore which makes sustainable household and personal products.