<
https://theconversation.com/pollution-from-coal-power-plants-contributes-to-far-more-deaths-than-scientists-realized-study-shows-218231>
"Air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are more harmful to human
health than many experts realized, and it’s more than twice as likely to
contribute to premature deaths as air pollution particles from other sources,
new research demonstrates.
In the study, published in the journal
Science, colleagues and I mapped how
U.S. coal power plant emissions traveled through the atmosphere, then linked
each power plant’s emissions with death records of Americans over 65 years old
on Medicare.
Our results suggest that air pollutants released from coal power plants were
associated with nearly half a million premature deaths of elderly Americans
from 1999 to 2020.
It’s a staggering number, but the study also has good news: Annual deaths
associated with U.S. coal power plants have fallen sharply since the mid-2000s
as federal regulations compelled operators to install emissions scrubbers and
many utilities shut down coal plants entirely.
In 1999, 55,000 deaths were attributable to coal air pollution in the U.S.,
according to our findings. By 2020, that number had fallen to 1,600.
In the U.S., coal is being displaced by natural gas and renewable energy for
generating electricity. Globally, however, coal use is projected to increase in
coming years. That makes our results all the more urgent for global
decision-makers to understand as they develop future policies."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
