Posted on May 18, 2022
Eliminating fossil fuel air pollution would save about 50,000 lives, study finds
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https://www.npr.org/2022/05/17/ [login to see] /eliminating-fossil-fuel-air-pollution-would-save-about-50-000-lives-study-finds
Tens of thousands of lives would be saved every year in the United States if common air pollution from burning fossil fuels is eliminated, according to a new study. The research underscores the huge health benefits of moving away from coal, oil and gasoline.
Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison estimate that about 50,000 premature deaths would be avoided every year if microscopic air pollutants called particulates were eliminated in the U.S.
"These [particles] get deep into the lungs and cause both respiratory and cardiac ailments," says Jonathan Patz, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the authors of the study. "They are pretty much the worst pollutant when it comes to mortality and hospitalization."
Premature death and hospitalization are also extremely expensive for the U.S. economy. The study estimates that eliminating such air pollution would save about $600 billion each year.
Burning fossil fuels are a main source of fine particulate pollution in the U.S. The new study is the latest reminder that climate change and public health are intimately related, and that cutting greenhouse gas emissions doesn't just reduce long-term risk from global warming; it can save lives immediately by cutting pollution.
Tens of thousands of lives would be saved every year in the United States if common air pollution from burning fossil fuels is eliminated, according to a new study. The research underscores the huge health benefits of moving away from coal, oil and gasoline.
Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison estimate that about 50,000 premature deaths would be avoided every year if microscopic air pollutants called particulates were eliminated in the U.S.
"These [particles] get deep into the lungs and cause both respiratory and cardiac ailments," says Jonathan Patz, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the authors of the study. "They are pretty much the worst pollutant when it comes to mortality and hospitalization."
Premature death and hospitalization are also extremely expensive for the U.S. economy. The study estimates that eliminating such air pollution would save about $600 billion each year.
Burning fossil fuels are a main source of fine particulate pollution in the U.S. The new study is the latest reminder that climate change and public health are intimately related, and that cutting greenhouse gas emissions doesn't just reduce long-term risk from global warming; it can save lives immediately by cutting pollution.
Eliminating fossil fuel air pollution would save about 50,000 lives, study finds
Posted from npr.org
Climate Change
Environment
Medical
Health
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 4
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Eliminating an open border would save 50,000 American lives from drug overdoses
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LTC David Brown
SPC David Willis - nothing should be considered secure. A drug tunnel was uncovered. With the massive influx of illegal aliens border patrol and customs are extremely strained. The drug cartels run agents around by reporting where children will be crossing the border pulling agents off from other duties etc.
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SPC David Willis
LTC David Brown right that’s my point and why I put secure in quotations. Even if you close the border overdose deaths will still happen at the same rate because drugs will get through, over or under the border. Closing it solves nothing strictly speaking about the drug trade.
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LTC David Brown
SPC David Willis - I cut the rate in half. 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year. A record high
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SPC David Willis
LTC David Brown the rate wouldn’t change at all. It may even go up when state side dealers start stepping on their packages with who knows what chemicals. Drugs will always be a problem until we decide to actually address the root causes of addiction with counseling instead of prison and cracking down on pharmaceutical companies peddling narcotics. There are benefits to closing the border sure, but reduction of drug deaths isnt really one of them. If the war on drugs could have been won it would have by now.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Not all fuels are equally dangerous. For example, coal releases extremely intense pollution. But the U.S. is burning a lot less coal than it did even a decade ago. That has helped the electricity sector get a little bit cleaner, although the study still attributes about 9,000 premature deaths each year to pollution from power plants. Cars, trucks and other vehicles that run on fossil fuels account for about 11,000 premature deaths, the study finds."...
..."Not all fuels are equally dangerous. For example, coal releases extremely intense pollution. But the U.S. is burning a lot less coal than it did even a decade ago. That has helped the electricity sector get a little bit cleaner, although the study still attributes about 9,000 premature deaths each year to pollution from power plants. Cars, trucks and other vehicles that run on fossil fuels account for about 11,000 premature deaths, the study finds."...
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