That's fine.
I know many have been crying out that global climate change is a scam and they are waiting for the data to be "adequate" or "100% conclusive" before they beleive we should take action, disregarding the fact that science is NEVER 100% conclusive.
But people are as people are. They take the bait from the corporations and accept that climate change is a "partisan" issue and therefore fight it every step of the way.
That too is fine.
But I have been asking the deniers to answer the question of what if. What if global climate change is not the fault of man and is just a natural event? And what if we acted upon it anyway, transitioning into renewable energy and away from fossil fuel combustion? What harm comes of that? Pollution goes down as does dependence on foreign oil and all of the health, political, security, and environmental problems which correspond.
What about the flipside? What if global climate change is real and is caused by CO2 emmissions? What if we do nothing? You may have saved big corporations a little bit of money and paid a little less on your power bill, but at what cost?
That has been my argument for some time now. The American Lung Association has now added another bullet to my "what do we have to lose" column when they released their 2009 State of the Air report.
The new report shows that 186.1 million Americans (61.7%) live in areas which have unhealthy levels of air pollution.
58% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone where monitored air quality places them at risk for lower lung function, respiratory infection, lung inflammation and aggravation of respiratory illness. The actual number of people affected is thought to be much higher since air monitors do not exist in many surrounding areas.
30% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of short-term particle pollution. Short-term spikes in particle pollution can last from hours to several days and can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and emergency-room visits for asthma and cardiovascular disease, and most importantly, can increase the risk of early death.
One in six Americans live in areas with dangerous levels of year round particle pollution. Even when levels are fairly low, exposure to particles over time can increase risk of hospitalization for asthma, damage to the lungs and, significantly, increase the risk of premature death.
Just under one in eight people—roughly 40.5 million in the United States—live in the 37 counties with unhealthful levels of all three: ozone and short-term and year-round particle pollution.
Coal fired power plants are the number one contributer to ozone and particle air pollution. They are also the greatest contributer to mercury pollution.
Gasoline powered vehicles are the second greatest contributer to ozone and particle pollution.
So even if you are a global climate change denier and think the whole thing is a secret conspiracy to make Al Gore rich, limiting emissions and transitioning to renewables will certainly benefit our health and undoubtedly, the health of our future generations.
The full State of the Air Report can be viewed here:
