Air pollution experts warn of smokier B.C. cities in future as climate changes

August 9, 2017

Many British Columbians don’t realize that air pollution is a significant killer. Carlsten and UBC professor Michael Brauer wrote a chapter in a recent book, Reflections of Canada: Illuminating Our Opportunities and Challenges at 150+ Years, that noted almost 8,000 Canadian deaths per year “are related to air pollution”.

“Air pollution causes more death than motor vehicle collisions, suicide, and HIV combined,” they declared in the book.

In a phone interview with the Straight, Brauer pointed out that these fatalities aren’t widely recognized because “nobody gets ‘air pollution’ on their death certificate.”