Richard Fuller (environmentalist)

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Richard Fuller
Richard Fuller.jpg
Born1960
Education Engineering, Melbourne University
Occupation(s) Engineer, environmentalist, entrepreneur
Organization(s) Pure Earth, The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, Great Forest
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Richard Fuller signature (cropped).jpg

Richard Fuller OAM (born 1960) is an Australian-born, United States-based engineer, entrepreneur, and environmentalist known for his work in pollution remediation.

Contents

He is founder and President of the nonprofit Pure Earth (formerly known as Blacksmith Institute), [1] Co-Chair of The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, [1] and the Co-Chair of the Pure Earth-founded group the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution. [2] Fuller also founded and serves as the President of waste management consultancy firm Great Forest. [3]

Early career

Richard Fuller graduated with a degree in Engineering from Melbourne University. [3] Following university, he worked for IBM. [3] He left Australia in 1988 to work in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil with the United Nations Environment Programme for two years. [3]

In 1989, he established New York City-based waste management consultancy firm Great Forest. [3]

Pure Earth

Despite the success of Great Forest, Fuller felt that there was more he can do to bring about meaningful environmental change. [4] In 1999, Fuller established Pure Earth (formerly known as Blacksmith Institute) to focus on pollution remediation. [4] Fuller used profits from Great Forest to launch the nonprofit Pure Earth to tackle the problem on a larger scale.[ citation needed ] A portion of Great Forest's profits continues to support Pure Earth's work.[ citation needed ]

Pure Earth largely focuses on remediating toxic pollution in developing countries, [5] as well as identifying and documenting toxic sites. [6] Pure Earth states that it has identified nearly 5,000 toxic sites throughout more than 50 countries, and offers a database outlining its findings. [6] Pure Earth has completed over 120 cleanup pilot projects in 24 countries.[ citation needed ] The group also organizes workshops to train investigators and government representatives, and says it has trained over 400 investigators and 90 government representatives. [6]

The organization has developed a metric to provide a basic quantitative evaluation of the risk associated with an identified toxic site, known as the Blacksmith Index. [7] The index was developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University.[ citation needed ]

Pure Earth also offers a website which provides global data on lead pollution. [8]

Involvement with other organizations

Global Alliance on Health and Pollution

In 2012, Fuller convened the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, [1] an organization meant to bring together experts from different countries to tackle global pollution, and provide technical know-how to developing countries. [1] [2] Fuller serves as the organization's Co-Chair. [2]

In 2014, Fuller, on behalf of the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, called on the United Nations to spotlight pollution in the Sustainable Development Goals. [9]

Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health

In 2017, Fuller began serving as the Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, [1] an initiative of The Lancet, the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with additional coordination and input from the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the World Bank. [10]

The Commission brought together over 40 international health and environmental authors, and produced a report in 2017 providing what it claimed to be the first comprehensive estimates of the effects of global pollution on health and economy worldwide. [11] The report concluded that pollution is the largest environmental cause of death in the world, killing over 9 million people worldwide, threatening the "continuing survival of human societies." [12]

The report received news coverage from outlets including the Guardian, [13] PBS NewsHour [14] and CNN's Fareed Zakaria. [15]

In an open letter to mark the release of the report from The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, [16] Fuller writes: "For too long, pollution has been sidelined, overshadowed, ignored by the world, in part because it is a complicated topic with many causes, and as many outcomes. Often it kills slowly, and indirectly, hiding its tracks. With this report, we bring pollution out of the shadows". [17]

Fuller was invited to present the report's findings at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in February 2018. [18] He was also invited to provide briefings of the report at the World Bank, [19] the United Nations,[ citation needed ] the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,[ citation needed ] and the OECD. [20]

Global Observatory on Pollution and Health

In October 2018, Fuller joined former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Erik Solheim and Pushpam Kumar of the United Nations Environmental Programme, and Philip J. Landrigan of Boston College at the launch of the Global Observatory on Pollution and Health. [21]

Other advocacy

Fuller's focus is not on pollution in general, but more specifically on disease-causing pollution that impacts the health of people, especially those living in low- and middle-income countries.[ citation needed ]  

Through Pure Earth and the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, Fuller lobbied the United Nations to provide more detail relating to its pollution goals in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [22] Fuller was dissatisfied with the initial SDGs, saying that "we were all worried about a year and half ago that there was nothing listed of any substance about pollution in the SDGs. It was sparse, at best". [22] Ultimately, Fuller and his groups were successful, and he said "we managed to get a target written in — 3.9 — within the health goal that says we need to substantially reduce death and disability from all types of pollution. That means contaminated sites, air, water, and ground pollution from chemicals". [22]

Fuller gave a speech to World Bank in 2018, in which he said that "toxic pollution is the largest cause of death in the world. Yet it is one of the most underreported and underfunded global problems". [23]

Publications

The Brown Agenda

He is co-author of The Brown Agenda: My Mission To Clean up The World's Most Life-Threatening Pollution, [24] alongside Damon DiMarco. The book was published in 2015 by the Santa Monica Press. [25] The book documents Fuller's adventures at some of the world's most toxic locations, and introduces readers to the plight of the poisoned poor, suggesting specific ways in which anyone can help combat brown sites all over the world. [26]

In a 2015 interview about the book on The Takeaway on NPR, Fuller noted the differences in approaches to climate change and pollution: "... over the last couple of decades, climate change has taken over as the key environmental issue. So now we find that the agenda of these countries is biodiversity and climate change, and pollution has simply dropped off the map. This is an extraordinary result and one we really need to turn around". [27]

"We've already solved most of the pollution problems in the West. There aren't people dying in droves in the U.S. or in England - they're all dying overseas, in low- and middle-income countries," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on the publication of the book. [28]

Other pieces

In 2017, Richard Fuller co-authored a piece with Philip J. Landrigan published in the UN Perspectives series, titled "The Impact of Pollution on Planetary Health: Emergence of an Underappreciated Risk Factor". [29]

In 2019, he co-authored Pollution and Children's Health, [30] which noted that "pollution was responsible in 2016 for 940,000 deaths in children, two-thirds under age 5," and that "92% of pollution-related deaths in children occur in low- and middle-income countries". He concluded in the piece that "pollution prevention presents a major, largely unexploited opportunity to improve children’s health especially in low and middle-income countries".

Views

Fuller believes that much of pollution can be solved. Fuller told the Associated Press in 2006 that "we have known technologies and proven strategies for eliminating a lot of this pollution". [31] In 2010 he told Time that "there’s a finite number of polluted sites out there, and you can fix them for relatively little". [5] In a 2015 opinion piece, Fuller wrote that the problems of pollution "are fixable", and that when issues related to pollution are addressed "the biggest single source of death on the planet — let alone an enormous drain on human and environmental well-being, not to mention economic growth — will be vanquished". [32]

Recognition

In October 2022, Richard Fuller was included in the Future Perfect 50 list from Vox, [33] recognizing “the scientists, thinkers, scholars, writers, and activists building a more perfect future”.

In June 2018, Fuller was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in recognition of his service to conservation and the environment. [34]

In October 2019, Fuller received an Advance Award for Social Impact from the Australian government for his 20 years of pioneering work with Pure Earth and his leadership in tacking the issue as "a toxic pollution fighting hero". [35] [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollution</span> Introduction of contaminants that cause adverse change

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance or energy. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable development</span> Mode of human development

Sustainable development is an organizing principle that aims to meet human development goals while also enabling natural systems to provide necessary natural resources and ecosystem services to humans. The desired result is a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining the planetary integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development tries to find a balance between economic development, environmental protection, and social well-being. The Brundtland Report in 1987 defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The concept of sustainable development nowadays has a focus on economic development, social development and environmental protection for future generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental movement</span> Movement for addressing environmental issues

The environmental movement, is a social movement that aims to protect the natural world from harmful environmental practices in order to create sustainable living. Environmentalists advocate the just and sustainable management of resources and stewardship of the environment through changes in public policy and individual behavior. In its recognition of humanity as a participant in ecosystems, the movement is centered on ecology, health, as well as human rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Developing country</span> Nation with a lower living standard relative to more developed countries

A developing country is a sovereign state with a less developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreement on which countries fit this category. The terms low and middle-income country (LMIC) and newly emerging economy (NEE) are often used interchangeably but refers only to the economy of the countries. The World Bank classifies the world's economies into four groups, based on gross national income per capita: high, upper-middle, lower-middle, and low income countries. Least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states are all sub-groupings of developing countries. Countries on the other end of the spectrum are usually referred to as high-income countries or developed countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World economy</span> Economy of the world

The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, economic management, work in general, financial transactions and trade of goods and services. In some contexts, the two terms are distinct: the "international" or "global economy" is measured separately and distinguished from national economies, while the "world economy" is simply an aggregate of the separate countries' measurements. Beyond the minimum standard concerning value in production, use and exchange, the definitions, representations, models and valuations of the world economy vary widely. It is inseparable from the geography and ecology of planet Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental health</span> Public health branch focused on environmental impacts on human health

Environmental health is the branch of public health concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment affecting human health. In order to effectively control factors that may affect health, the requirements that must be met in order to create a healthy environment must be determined. The major sub-disciplines of environmental health are environmental science, toxicology, environmental epidemiology, and environmental and occupational medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global health</span> Health of populations in a global context

Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problems that transcend national borders or have a global political and economic impact are often emphasized. Thus, global health is about worldwide health improvement, reduction of disparities, and protection against global threats that disregard national borders, including the most common causes of human death and years of life lost from a global perspective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pure Earth</span> Nonprofit organization

Pure Earth is a New York City-based international not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 that works to identify, clean up, and solve pollution problems in low- and middle-income countries, where high concentrations of toxic pollution have devastating health impacts, especially on children. These communities suffer disproportionately from pollution-related diseases. Pure Earth remains the only significant organization of its kind working to solve pollution on a global scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air pollution</span> Presence of dangerous substances in the atmosphere

Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances called pollutants in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. It is also the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment either by chemical, physical, or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases, particulates, and biological molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and crops, and may damage the natural environment or built environment. Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and natural phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip J. Landrigan</span> American epidemiologist and pediatrician

Philip John Landrigan, is an American epidemiologist and pediatrician. He has campaigned against substances in the environment that are harmful to children, such as lead and asbestos. He is also concerned with environmental pesticides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zamfara State lead poisoning outbreak</span> 2010 lead poisoning incidents in Nigeria

A series of lead poisonings in Zamfara State, Nigeria, led to the deaths of at least 163 people between March and June 2010, including 111 children. Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health figures, state the discovery of 355 cases with 46 percent proving fatal. It was one of the many lead poisoning epidemics with low and middle income countries. By 2022, Médecins Sans Frontières stated that conditions had greatly improved after years of a lead poisoning intervention programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air pollution in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the air pollution in the UK

Air pollution in the United Kingdom has long been considered a significant health issue, and it causes numerous other environmental problems such as damage to buildings, forests, and crops. Many areas, including major cities like London, are found to be significantly and regularly above legal and recommended pollution levels. Air pollution in the UK is a major cause of diseases such as asthma, lung disease, stroke, cancer, and heart disease, and is estimated to cause forty thousand premature deaths each year, which is about 8.3% of deaths, while costing around £40 billion each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goals</span> United Nations 17 sustainable development goals for 2030

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They were created with the aim of "peace and prosperity for people and the planet..." – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs emphasize the interconnected environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development by putting sustainability at their center.

GAHP (Global Alliance on Health and Pollution) is a network of international and national level agencies committed to a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach to address the global pollution crisis and the resulting health and economic impacts. GAHP’s overall goal is to reduce death and illness caused by all forms of toxic pollution, including air, water, soil and chemical wastes especially in low and middle-income countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Resources Institute</span> Non-profit organization

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. Subsequent presidents include Jonathan Lash, Andrew D. Steer and current president Ani Dasgupta (2021-).

Planetary Health is a multi- and transdisciplinary research paradigm, a new science for exceptional action, and a global movement. Planetary Health refers to "the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends". In 2015, the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health launched the concept which is currently being developed towards a new health science with over 25 areas of expertise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 14</span> 14th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to conserve life below water

Sustainable Development Goal 14 is about "Life below water" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is to "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". The Goal has ten targets to be achieved by 2030. Progress towards each target is being measured with one indicator each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 3</span> Good Health and Well-Being

Sustainable Development Goal 3, regarding "Good Health and Well-being", is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is: "To ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages." The targets of SDG 3 focus on various aspects of healthy life and healthy lifestyle. Progress towards the targets is measured using twenty-one indicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple planetary crisis</span> Three intersecting global environmental crises

Triple Planetary Crisis is a term and framework adopted by the United Nations system to describe the three intersecting global environmental crises of pollution, climate crisis, biodiversity loss and/or ecological crises. This term underscores the interdependence of these issues and their collective impact on the planet's ecosystems, societies, and economies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Staff". Pure Earth . Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Commission Co-Chair: Richard Fuller - GAHP | Global Alliance on Health and Pollution". Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Richard Fuller". Great Forest. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 Bumgarner, Alice (27 January 2009). "Breakthrough Solutions For One Of Earth's Biggest Challenges". Idea Connection. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 Walsh, Bryan (18 October 2010). "Power of One". Time . ISSN   0040-781X. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Toxic Sites Identification Program". Pure Earth . Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "BLACKSMITH INDEX – OVERVIEW" (PDF). Pure Earth . Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "Global Lead Pollution Map". Pure Earth . Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Addressing the U.N. on Pollution in the SDGs - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "Lancet Commission on Pollution & Health". Pure Earth . Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Lancet: Pollution linked to nine million deaths worldwide in 2015, equivalent to one in six deaths". Global Alliance on Health and Pollution . 19 October 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  12. ↑ Landrigan, Philip J.; Fuller, Richard; Acosta, Nereus J R.; Adeyi, Olusoji; Arnold, Robert; Basu, Niladri (Nil); Baldé, Abdoulaye Bibi; Bertollini, Roberto; Bose-o'Reilly, Stephan; Boufford, Jo Ivey; Breysse, Patrick N.; Chiles, Thomas; Mahidol, Chulabhorn; Coll-Seck, Awa M.; Cropper, Maureen L.; Fobil, Julius; Fuster, Valentin; Greenstone, Michael; Haines, Andy; Hanrahan, David; Hunter, David; Khare, Mukesh; Krupnick, Alan; Lanphear, Bruce; Lohani, Bindu; Martin, Keith; Mathiasen, Karen V.; McTeer, Maureen A.; Murray, Christopher J L.; et al. (19 October 2017). "The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health". The Lancet. 391 (10119): 462–512. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32345-0 . PMID   29056410. S2CID   140204154.
  13. ↑ Carrington, Damian (20 October 2017). "Global pollution kills 9m a year and threatens 'survival of human societies'". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Pollution causes one in six deaths worldwide". PBS NewsHour . 21 October 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  15. ↑ Fereed, Zakaria (8 November 2017). "What In The World: A Deadly Pollution Problem". CNN, Fareed Zakaria GPS.
  16. ↑ "The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health". The Lancet. 391. 19 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "GAHP Open Letter". Global Alliance on Health and Pollution. 20 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "AM18 Global Situation Space | The Big Picture on Pollution - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  19. ↑ "Fixing Pollution: A Winning Formula for Health and Wealth". World Bank Live. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  20. ↑ "Pure Earth at the OECD Urging for Action on Pollution - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  21. ↑ "Global Observatory on Pollution and Health Launches". Global Alliance on Health and Pollution. 18 November 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 Sampathkumar, Mythili (8 April 2015). "Meet a 2015-er: Richard Fuller". UN Dispatch. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  23. ↑ "Fixing Pollution: A Winning Formula For Health and Wealth". YouTube (WorldBank Livestream Archive Video). 11 January 2018.
  24. ↑ "Pollution: The Deadliest Killer in the Developing World". NPR. 14 December 2015.
  25. ↑ "Just published! The Brown Agenda: My Mission to Clean Up the World's Most Life-Threatening Pollution". The Brown Agenda: My Mission To Clean Up The World's Most Life-Threatening Pollution.
  26. ↑ Fuller, Richard (9 August 2015). "The poisoned poor: In poor countries man-made toxic pollutants spread like cancer. Here's why you should care". Salon.
  27. ↑ "The Takeaway". No. Pollution: The Deadliest Killer in the Developing World. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  28. ↑ D'Urso, Joseph (3 September 2015). "Tackle pollution to stop biggest killer of poor - author". Thomson Reuters Foundation . Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  29. ↑ Fuller, Richard (December 2017). "THE IMPACT OF POLLUTION ON PLANETARY HEALTH: Emergence of an Underappreciated Risk Factor" (PDF). UN Perspectives. 29.
  30. ↑ Landrigan, Philip J.; Fuller, Richard; Fisher, Samantha; Suk, William A.; Sly, Peter; Chiles, Thomas C.; Bose-o'Reilly, Stephan (10 February 2019). "Pollution and Children's Health". Science of the Total Environment. 650 (Pt2): 2389–2394. Bibcode:2019ScTEn.650.2389L. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.375. PMID   30292994. S2CID   52948278.
  31. ↑ Herbauch, Tracee (18 October 2006). "10 Million People At Risk From Pollution". Washington Post/AP. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  32. ↑ Fuller, Richard (26 October 2015). "OPINION: How we can vanquish pollution within our lifetimes". Ensia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  33. ↑ Walsh, Bryan (20 October 2022). "Pollution poisons millions. Richard Fuller and Pure Earth are doing something about it". Vox . Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  34. ↑ "2018 Recipients Medal of Order of Australia, Queen's Birthday Honours". The Australian. 11 June 2018.
  35. ↑ "Richard Fuller". Advance The Global Australian Network. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  36. ↑ "Richard is a toxic pollution fighting hero". Australia Science TV. 28 October 2019.
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