Lower air pollution equals longer life
A new study by the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has found a strong link between air quality and life expectancy.
A piece in the NIEHS Environmental Factor discusses the results of a study performed by NIEHS and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers looked at air pollution, deaths and census data for 51 metropolitan areas between 1978 and 2001.
The researchers also looked at factors like socio economic status and demographic characteristics of the areas studied. What they found was a direct correlation between improving air quality and extending life expectancy; people lived about 2.72 years longer over that time span and at least 15 percent of that increased life expectancy was from a decrease in air pollution.
A decrease in air pollution amounting to 10 micrograms per cubic meter of of particulates in the air led to an additional .61 years of life. Reducing particulate matter generated by factories, vehicles and power plants led to longer lives for the people living in those areas.
Following California’s effort to get people to switch from fossil fuel powered cars to hybrids or electric cars cuts not only cuts down on global warming but also adds to your life span. Cleaning up coal fired power plants and adding scrubbers to factory smoke stakes are also necessary for cleaning up the air quality of major cities and counties.
It’s hard to get worked up over studies talk about the effect global warming will have on the planet in 2100 or 2500. More than likely most of us won’t be alive by the time the dire predictions come to pass. However, when you know that switching the kind of car you drive, insisting on cleaner energy and cleaner factory emissions will add years to your life and your children’s lives, it is hard to not to be proactive.
Everyone should be lobbying for stricter air quality standards. Your life and the lives of those you love, depend on it.
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March 23rd, 2009
I agree Susan, it’s easier to make a change when you can see what’s in it for you — ie more time on Earth,
March 23rd, 2009
True perhaps, but economic activity, especially long tail stuff like power plants and steel mills, is all about air pollution. What’s an acceptable trade off?
March 23rd, 2009
Added benefit of buying one of those condos next to the highway.
December 2nd, 2009
hi im black and have a burnt crotch
December 2nd, 2009
me too!!!
December 2nd, 2009
i also have a vagina and abuse my children in every way imaginable. pretty cool huh?