Clearing the Air

Can we save lives with electric vehicles? And results of the Guelph Attitudes on EVs Survey

Air pollution causes more than 3,000 premature deaths every year in the GTHA – and that affects Guelph, too. One of the biggest sources of this air pollution is vehicle traffic.

This estimate is based on exposure to 3 pollutants – fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Ozone (O3). Air pollution is linked to lung cancer, respiratory conditions like asthma, allergies and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and cardiovascular conditions like angina, heart attack, hypertension and stroke.

Clearing the Air: How Electric Vehicles And Cleaner Trucks Can Reduce Pollution, Improve Health And Save Lives

And what about Guelph? We can learn a lot from this report and look at it with the lens of another new study by the University of Guelph – CESI (Community Engaged Scholarship Institute) with eMERGE: ‘Guelph Attitudes on EVs’.

What does a shift to cleaner vehicles look like?

Five scenarios in the report compare the health benefits of reducing traffic pollution from cars and SUVs, trucks, and transit buses. Each scenario explores a specific mix of cleaner vehicles, and how this shift impacts air pollution, health, and greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

Clearing the Air

Thursday , Oct. 22, 2020

7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

eMERGE Guelph was honoured to be part of the review committee on Clearing the Air by the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) Environmental Defence Canada and the University of Toronto.

We are also grateful for the expertise and guidance by CESI on the Guelph Attitudes on EVs.

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Join us as we host:

Helen Doyle| BSc, CPHI(C), Ontario Public Health Association( OPHA)

Helen Doyle is chair of the Ontario Public Health Association’s (OPHA) Environmental Health Work Group, working with public health partners to promote and advocate for action on environmental health issues including: climate change, air quality, water quality, housing, built and natural environments and children’s environmental health. She is a member of the OPHA Board of Directors. Helen is also on the Board of Directors for the Windfall Ecology Centre, a Green Communities Canada non-profit organization that delivers environmental programs and services in York Region and Toronto. Helen is a certified Public Health Inspector and retired from York Region Public Health in 2018 following a very rewarding and exciting 30 year career in environmental health and public health management.

AND

Laura Minet | Ph.D., Post Doctoral Fellow at University of Toronto

Laura is a PhD Candidate in Transportation Engineering at the University of Toronto (UofT) and a Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil Engineering and Earth Sciences at UofT. passionate by the issues related to the environment. She works on a variety of projects ranging from the presence of chemical compounds in food packaging to the impacts of traffic emissions on urban air quality, population exposure and health. She is thrilled to be part of the The Da Vinci Engineering Enrichment Program (DEEP) and is excited to share her passion for science and engineering. In her spare time, Laura loves hiking, camping and traveling!

The sponsors of this event:

The University of Guelph Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI) brings together community and campus skills and resources in order to advance community-identified research goals. They work in collaboration, honour diverse forms of knowledge, and leverage university resources for community benefit.

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About eMERGE

eMERGE Guelph Sustainability fights climate change to build a healthier society. It does this by engaging, and equipping Guelphites to transition to a 100% renewable energy (100RE) economy. It uses the narrative of achieving 100% Renewable Energy by 2050 as a positive goal to win this battle. This is done primarily by helping people reduce energy and water use through an individual residential focus along with community events, outreach and engagement that promote smart behavior, policy and improved efficiency to help Guelph build a road map to beat climate change and achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050.