Middle NZ: What's the solution to air pollution?

Air quality in Hastings twice exceeded national pollution standards over the weekend.

COMMENT:
Jack Frost has certainly been busy this week.

I can't remember the last time we had such a heavy frost as the one on Monday. It reminded me of school days — yep that was a long, long time ago.

Walking to school, blowing white "smoke" out of my mouth. Walking on grass, listening to the crunch then looking behind me to see my footprints. Ice in puddles and freezing cold classrooms.

So it wasn't surprising to me that the air quality in Hasting breached national pollution standards twice over the weekend. The weekend was cold. People were home, they lit their fires for warmth.

Linda Hall is Hawke's Bay Today's premium content editor.

I'm pretty sure when I was going to school there was no such thing as national air quality control. I'm also sure that nearly every house in my neighbourhood had fires going.

Some of them two or maybe three. Chip heaters and coal ranges were lit in the morning and fire places at night.

No firelighters either. I remember several sheets of newspaper held up to the fire to "cause a draft" going up in flames with burnt newspaper floating up the chimney and out into the lounge.

I also remember pulling the sofa right up the fire most evenings in winter and the instructions from parents and siblings to "close the door behind you" or "where you born in a tent?"

We were lucky, we always had a shed full of wood. Sometimes we had to help pick it up from a paddock and throw it on the trailer.

Sadly today heat is a luxury for some families and for some of our elderly.

When the temperature hit lows as we have seen over the past week keeping warm is not easy if you don't have dry firewood, heaters or heat pumps.

And even then lots of people, myself included, have to be a bit frugal with the wood, after all it has to last for another two months at least.

Following the story in yesterday's paper about the clean air breaches some texters noted that if dry wood was used it wouldn't happen.

I agree but when your kids are cold and the only wood you have is damp it goes on the fire.

We also have to consider the fact that according to Wikipedia the population of Hastings in June 2018 was 70,600. That's a lot of people in a lot of houses.

We live closer to each other these days as well. There's one section on my street that used to just have one house on it. Now there at least six units.

That's not unusual.

I imagine going outside on a cold still winter's day can be unpleasant for people who suffer from asthma, lung conditions or even for the very young and the very old.

The problem is only going to get worse as it doesn't look as if the growth of our region is going to slow down anytime soon.

What's the solution? One huge step in the right direction would be to make electricity cheaper. Even if it was cheaper just for the winter months.

That would make such a difference to so many people.

Another idea would be to have all new builds include solar panels.

Love to hear your ideas — email me on linda.hall@hbtoday.co.nz

Linda Hall is Hawke's Bay Today's premium content editor.