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AIR POLLUTION FATALITIES NOW EXCEED TRAFFIC FATALITIES

by Bernie Fischlowitz-Roberts

The World Health Organization reports that three million people now die each year from the effects of air pollution--three times greater than the one million people who die each year in automobile accidents. In the United States, traffic fatalities total just over 40,000 per year, while air pollution claims 70,000 lives annually--a rate equal to the deaths from breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. This scourge of cities in industrial and developing countries alike threatens the health of billions of people.

Air pollutants include carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates. These pollutants come primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels, principally coal-fired power plants, and gasoline-powered automobiles. The air in most urban areas typically contains a mixture of pollutants, each of which may increase a person's vulnerability to the effects of the others. Last year, Science magazine noted that exposures to current levels of ozone and particulates "affect death rates, hospitalizations and medical visits, complications of asthma and bronchitis, days of work lost, restricted-activity days, and a variety of measures of lung damage."

While these affect health care systems, they also take a toll on the economy. The increased monetary expenses related to air pollution-induced illness include the costs of medication, absences from work, and child care expenses. In the Canadian province of Ontario, for example, which has a population of 11.9 million, air pollution costs citizens at least $1 billion annually in hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and worker absenteeism. In China, which has some of the world's worst urban air pollution, the illnesses and deaths of urban residents due to air pollution are estimated to cost 5 percent of the gross domestic product.

In response to traffic congestion and their notorious air pollution problems, Mexico City and Sao Paulo restrict people from driving on certain days of the week, based on the last digit on their license plates. And Bogota, Colombia has put in place a series of measures to reduce air pollution from transportation; in the process, it has become a more livable city. Since 1995, the city has reduced traffic during rush hours by 40 percent and increased the gasoline tax. Some 120 kilometers (75 miles) of main arteries are closed for seven hours each Sunday, which allows the streets to be used for walking, bicycling, and jogging.

The solutions to urban air pollution are not difficult to discern. Individuals can reduce car usage in favor of cycling, walking, and mass transit and can use more fuel-efficient cars. Urban planning commissions and regional governments can redirect transportation funding toward mass transit options: light rail, heavy rail, or rapid bus transit. Zoning laws and other regulatory tools can be used to encourage the higher density development conducive to mass transit. And countries can shift electricity generation from coal and natural gas toward wind and solar power, using the lever of government subsidies and tax incentives for clean energy, rather than continuing to subsidize fossil fuels.

Reprinted with permission from the Earth Policy Institute (www.earth-policy.org).