It's Not Just Global Warming

The American Lung Association reported that if all US drivers switch to EVs and we use clean energy to power them by twenty-fifty, nearly ninety thousand lives and a trillion dollars in healthcare would be saved. A recent report called the “State of the Air” found that over a third of Americans live in areas with excessive ozone and particle pollution. Ozone is a highly reactive gas that can damage lung cells.  It comes from complex reactions between pollutants released into the air by things such as cars, factories, fossil fuels, consumer products, and paints.  

Particle pollution is tiny pieces of solids or liquids that are in the air. Large particles such as dust from roads, farms, and construction sites called PM10 can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat.  The more dangerous fine particles called PM2.5 are released from power plants, industrial facilities, and conventional cars and trucks and can get deeper into the lungs, even into the blood.  It can lead to trouble breathing, lung cancer and issues like low birth weight in babies and even heart attacks and strokes. 

Some states such as California and Oregon set goals to achieve “zero-emissions” for all passenger vehicle sales in about a decade. That’s also about when the EPA set tailpipe emission standards such that EVs should be two-thirds of car sales.  Given that last year set the global record for hottest summer, all countries need to work to slow global warming.  Sources of clean energy and EVs are a win-win for both climate change and human health.   

We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine.   For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com or our podcasts at:  Medical Discovery News (buzzsprout.com)