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AIR POLLUTION FATALITIES NOW EXCEED TRAFFIC FATALITIES

by Bernie Fischlowitz-Roberts

The World Health Organization reports that three million people nowdie each year from the effects of air pollution--three times greaterthan the one million people who die each year in automobile accidents.In the United States, traffic fatalities total just over 40,000 peryear, while air pollution claims 70,000 lives annually--a rate equal tothe deaths from breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Thisscourge of cities in industrial and developing countries alikethreatens the health of billions of people.

Air pollutants include carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide,nitrogen oxides, and particulates. These pollutants come primarilyfrom the combustion of fossil fuels, principally coal-fired powerplants, and gasoline-powered automobiles. The air in most urban areastypically contains a mixture of pollutants, each of which may increasea person's vulnerability to the effects of the others. Last year,Science magazine noted that exposures to current levels of ozone andparticulates "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 theeconomy. The increased monetary expenses related to airpollution-induced illness include the costs of medication, absencesfrom work, and child care expenses. In the Canadian province ofOntario, for example, which has a population of 11.9 million, airpollution costs citizens at least $1 billion annually in hospitaladmissions, emergency room visits, and worker absenteeism. In China,which has some of the world's worst urban air pollution, the illnessesand deaths of urban residents due to air pollution are estimated tocost 5 percent of the gross domestic product.

In response to traffic congestion and their notorious air pollutionproblems, Mexico City and Sao Paulo restrict people from driving oncertain days of the week, based on the last digit on their licenseplates. And Bogota, Colombia has put in place a series of measures toreduce air pollution from transportation; in the process, it hasbecome a more livable city. Since 1995, the city has reduced trafficduring rush hours by 40 percent and increased the gasoline tax. Some120 kilometers (75 miles) of main arteries are closed for seven hourseach 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, andmass transit and can use more fuel-efficient cars. Urban planningcommissions and regional governments can redirect transportationfunding toward mass transit options: light rail, heavy rail, or rapidbus transit. Zoning laws and other regulatory tools can be used toencourage the higher density development conducive to mass transit.And countries can shift electricity generation from coal and naturalgas toward wind and solar power, using the lever of governmentsubsidies and tax incentives for clean energy, rather than continuingto subsidize fossil fuels.

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