Santosh Harish on how air pollution is responsible for ~12 % of global deaths—and how to get that number down

Abstract

In today’s episode, host Rob Wiblin interviews Santosh Harish — leader of Open Philanthropy’s grantmaking in South Asian air quality — about the scale of the harm caused by air pollution. They cover: • How bad air pollution is for our health and life expectancy • The different kinds of harm that particulate pollution causes • The strength of the evidence that it damages our brain function and reduces our productivity • Whether it was a mistake to switch our attention to climate change and away from air pollution • Whether most listeners to this show should have an air purifier running in their house right now • Where air pollution in India is worst and why, and whether it’s going up or down • Where most air pollution comes from • The policy blunders that led to many sources of air pollution in India being effectively unregulated • Why indoor air pollution packs an enormous punch • The politics of air pollution in India • How India ended up spending a lot of money on outdoor air purifiers • The challenges faced by foreign philanthropists in India • Why Santosh has made the grants he has so far •And plenty more