The debate over electric vehicles (EVs) and whether the U.S. should enact legislation to force automakers to only build electric cars has been heated for years. But a new study puts a brighter light on the kind of impact such legislation could have on saving lives.
New data from the American Lung Association has found that if the U.S. could transition to zero-emission vehicles and an electrical grid powered by clean, renewable energy, it could prevent 2.79 million pediatric asthma attacks and more than 500 infant mortalities by 2050. Cleaner vehicles and energy could also eliminate nearly 2.7 million pediatric upper respiratory illnesses and 1.9 million lower respiratory illnesses, the study found.
"The transportation sector is a leading source of both our air pollution and climate crises, meaning zero-emission technologies are needed to reduce harm to children today and as they grow," American Lung Association Senior Director for Nationwide Advocacy on Clean Air Will Barrett told Tech Times in an interview.
Barrett added that adults could also benefit while children are disproportionately affected by unhealthy air due to their lung growth and immune system development. Indeed, other American Lung Association data has shown that cleaner air could save 100,000 lives of both children and adults and reduce public health costs by $1.2 trillion.
"There is no question that air pollution and climate change threaten the health of both children and adults," Barrett said.
The EV Burden
Electric vehicles benefit the environment in a variety of ways. Their design, for instance, allows them to reduce harmful emissions, and their batteries eliminate the need for fossil fuel use. Increasing adoption of EVs would also reduce sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles that significantly contribute to air pollution.
"Vehicles create pollution from tire and brake wear, but also via the combustion of fossil fuels and tailpipe emissions," said Northwestern University Professor Daniel Horton. "EVs do not have tailpipe emissions, so they decrease overall transportation-related pollution, even when their batteries are charged with energy from fossil-fueled power plants."
But getting cleaner air isn't necessarily straightforward. The American Lung Association's study assumes American consumers will only be able to buy electric vehicles by 2035 and zero-emission trucks by 2040. The study also assumes the electrical grid will be powered entirely by renewable energy by 2035.
An Eye on Legislation
That's no small task. While advocates have been calling on broad-based clean energy bills, and some states, including New York and California, have pushed legislation to require electric vehicles, there is still no federal mandate to get the U.S. to the American Lung Association's assumption.
"The Biden Administration must act to finalize proposed standards for passenger vehicles and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in the next month," Barrett said. "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must also act immediately to review and approve the suite of pending Clean Air Act waivers to allow states to implement more health-protective zero-emission transportation standards."
But perhaps there's more to realizing the benefits of EVs than simply getting lawmakers to act with new legislation. Northwestern University's Horton told Tech Times that opportunities exist to reduce carbon emissions by getting people to support legislation and taking time to act.
"Reducing transport emissions via improved public transport options, safer active transport options, like bike infrastructure, or transitioning to EVs will have co-benefits in the form of less greenhouse gas emissions and less air pollution," said Horton. "To facilitate these benefits, we need regulations, incentives, and design options that encourage change, and we need the courage to act."
Helping People of Color
The stakes for acting are high if we're talking about saving the lives of children and adults. But Barrett argues there's even more reason to act when considering the impact cleaner air could have on lower-income families and people of color.
"It is extremely important to recognize disparities in pollution burdens," said Barrett. "The U.S. EPA has estimated that there are 72 million people living in close proximity to the nation's major freight corridors, meaning they are more likely to experience greater health burdens due to increased diesel exposures - and they tend to be people of color and have lower incomes."
Barrett said heavy-duty trucks tend to be especially burdensome on pollution and contribute heavily to entire communities suffering from polluted air. He pointed to the American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report, which found that 120 million Americans - more than a third of the country - live in communities with harmful air pollution.
"A person of color is 3.7 times more likely than a white person to live in a community with the most polluted air," Barrett added.
Therefore, the future needs to be powered by clean energy, Barrett believes. And the longer it takes for American governments to react, the longer Americans themselves will suffer.
"Stronger state and national standards," Barrett said, "and the broad and rapid transition to zero-emission transportation is critical to addressing disparities in pollution exposures."
About the author: Don Reisinger is a longtime freelance writer who has written on topics as far-ranging as technology and business to science topics. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Fortune, Inc., The New York Times, Business Insider, Tom's Guide, and many others. Follow him at https://muckrack.com/donreisinger and https://twitter.com/donreisinger
