Air Quality News publishes Special Report: Air Pollution and Technology

How can new equipment  mitigate the effects of low air quality? What are the hidden environmental costs of your IT systems? Who are the people taking air quality monitoring into their own hands? Our latest deep dive, looking at technology and the atmosphere, is out now. 

Air Quality News has published a new special report looking at the relationship between air pollution and technology. Split into three distinct features, the in-depth analysis is featured in the latest issue of our magazine, which hit digital newsstands last week. 

The first piece dives into new equipment offering opportunities to mitigate the dangerous effects of air pollution. Written by Georgie Hughes, the article ultimately asks if tech can really be relied on to deliver the solutions we so clearly need, and – perhaps most importantly – asks whether we should really be focused on research and development, rather than simpler prevention measures? 

Technology itself is also adding to our polluted atmosphere, as Martin Guttridge-Hewitt makes clear in his exploration of hidden emissions costs tied to IT systems. Speaking to experts who audit organisations to ascertain what their overall tech footprint is, before making recommendations on ways in which this could be reduced, the feature lays bare the shocking environmental toll tied of cloud computing, server banks and web domains. 

And, finally, editor Chloe Choules switches to a local focus by shining the spotlight on members of the public who are taking air quality monitoring into their own hands in a bid to get a clearer picture of pollution in their community, in turn fuelling campaigns pushing for legislative and policy-level changes. Taking viewpoints from across the country, the work can be read as a blueprint, informing others how they can begin to enact change in their area. 

All three articles are included in the September 2022 issue of Air Quality News magazine, which also features a look at potential paths to ending wood burning, how air pollution impacts food production, and an interview with a former Exon-Mobil research scientist who is now lobbying for oil and gas companies to adopt producer accountability for emissions, effectively forcing them to capture and store all carbon they are responsible for.

Read the magazine in full here.

Image: Elchinator