On the 22nd of June 2023, Sustainable Futures held their monthly online seminar series. In this edition, the environmental issues of air pollution and material mining were discussed by academics from The University of Manchester and The University of Birmingham. Hosted by Professor Hugh Coe from the University of Manchester, the seminar was kicked off in earnest by a presentation from Dr Ron Chan, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics also from The University of Manchester.
Titled ‘Air Pollution, Smoky Days and Hours Worked: The Impact of Pollution on the Labour Market in Chile’, Dr Chan provided the seminar with an enlightening and relevant presentation. The talk was based off research focusing on specific impacts of air pollution, such as cognitive abilities, educational outcomes, and labour productivity. The presentation also included ongoing research on wildfires, air pollution and hours worked using administrative data from Chile.
Dr Chan’s presentation was concluded with a live Q&A session with attendees.
This was followed by the second presentation of the day, ‘Climate Justice and Cathode Materials – Context and Challenges of Mining and Batteries’ by Isabella Stephens, PhD Researcher in Material Science from The University of Birmingham. In an informative presentation, Stephens explored and stressed the importance of the societal and environmental implications of battery material mining.
Another live Q&A session involving attendees of the seminar followed and the event was soon wrapped up by Professor Coe.
If you missed the event, you can watch it back here:
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