Lungs Grey With Smoke

Alex De Koning

I feel choked
My throat catches on the thick air
Lungs grey with smoke
I protest but no-one cares

My throat catches on the thick air
Trump tore up yet another deal, unprovoked
I protest but no-one cares
The fire has been stoked

Trump tore up yet another deal, unprovoked
Windmills are to blame, insists the oil heir
The fire has been stoked
I smother my fear with a prayer

Windmills are to blame, insists the oil heir
Lungs grey with smoke
I smother my fear with a prayer
I feel choked

The Science

An estimated 5.13 million (3.63 to 6.32) global excess deaths per year are attributable to ambient air pollution from fossil fuel use and therefore could potentially be avoided by phasing out fossil fuels. And yet, President Trump has pulled out of the Paris Agreement and other climate deals and provoked misinformation about fossil fuels, including that the noise pollution from wind turbines could cause cancer. 

Meanwhile, eco-anxiety remains high across the globe with one study showing that 59% of 16–24-year-olds across 10 countries (including the UK) are very or extremely worried about climate change. Climate anxiety and distress were correlated with perceived inadequate government response and associated feelings of betrayal. This pantoum poem was inspired by these three facts and how it is so important to discuss and research air pollution and the climate crisis but how in doing so, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless.

The Poet

Alex De Koning is a former climate activist and environmental scientist who blocked oil pipelines and researched green hydrogen production. He now works as a communications officer and is very interested in other ways to communicate science accessibly, be it through blogs, poems or panel debates.

Next poem: Nowhere near here is a jabberwocky by Wendy Schaffer