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3 LINKS BETWEEN ENERGY, AIR QUALITY, AND HUMAN HEALTH
Pages 41-64

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From page 41...
... Schrag began his presentation by highlighting that the world energy system has changed substantially from 1800 to the present: transitioning from mostly wood to the onset of coal, then the growth of oil, natural gas, and hydropower, and most recently the arrival of nuclear energy. Roughly 85 percent of the energy in the United States now comes from fossil fuels.
From page 42...
... Schrag stated 1 Radiative forcing is used to compare how a range of human and natural factors drive warming or cooling influences on global climate; positive forcing tends to warm the surface while negative forcing tends to cool it (IPCC, 2007)
From page 43...
... , the public perception of risk may be lower than reality. Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health Schrag noted that climate change will impact human health in several areas, including  changes in the distribution of infectious disease,  water scarcity, 3 The Ross Ice Shelf, located in Antarctica, is the largest floating freshwater ice formation in the world (Crary et al., 1962)
From page 44...
... Schrag stated that it is very important to consider the impacts that climate change mitigation can have on health. And, he added, moving away from fossil fuels can be beneficial for health for many reasons.
From page 45...
... . Schrag noted that the health community and the climate change community can come together to support cleaner energy sources and move away from obvious failures in the market (such as dirty, conventional coal-fired power plants)
From page 46...
... In contrast, inadequate or inefficient energy sources may result in indoor air pollution or lost human potential at the household level, lack of infrastructure or decreased health protection at the local level, and energy insecurity and price volatility or international tensions at the global level. Wilkinson proposed that the outcomes observed at the global level are difficult to measure -- the consequences of energy price volatility are complex and largely indirect, and those of climate change are somewhat uncertain and largely in the future -- but they could represent very large impacts on health.
From page 47...
... Wilkinson asserted that achieving a major reduction in the world's dependence on carbon-based fuels is important -- in part to tackle the serious threat of climate change but also because of the associated current adverse public health burdens, concerns about energy security, and the potential for improving health and quality of life. He stated that there are many examples of actions aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels that also may help address major public health priorities.
From page 48...
... Models show that improved energy efficiency or retrofitted insulation (roof insulation, window upgrades, etc.) can also protect against increased indoor temperatures during periods of overheating, and potentially against the ingress of harmful pollutants from the outdoor air (although there is a risk of increasing the concentration of pollutants from indoor sources, including radon, secondhand tobacco smoke, and combustion-related particles)
From page 49...
... He noted that nuclear energy is a particularly difficult issue -- despite its feasibility and ability to reduce emissions, and its historically low overall health impact -- because of public perceptions and fears. Wilkinson asserted that all choices entail advantages and disadvantages.
From page 50...
... Smith stated that the three main solid fuels used globally are coal, crop residues, and wood. He noted that the smoke from biomass fuels in simple stoves contains many toxic pollutants, such as respirable small particles (PM2.5)
From page 51...
... . The first environmental risk factor on the list, unsafe water and sanitation, appears at number six, and indoor smoke from solid fuels was listed at number eight (WHO, 2002)
From page 52...
... Thus, he stated, exposure to household air pollution is an important cause of ill health, at least in certain populations throughout the world. Beyond the Kitchen: Impacts on Outdoor Air Quality and Climate Combined data from several international air pollution data sets show that household air pollution from solid fuels are a significant source of ambient air pollution in many regions (Lim et al., 2012)
From page 53...
... . Smith added that there is a gap in the data in the range of 1–20 mg of PM2.5 per day; but, this range correlates to the exposures observed worldwide for the women in households using solid fuels (Smith and Peel, 2010)
From page 54...
... Again, Smith emphasized the lesson from all of this is that it is not enough just to move the household air pollution -- the pollution should be eliminated or significantly decreased. From this work and other studies on smoking and ambient air pollution, Smith stated, it is recognized that combustion particles cause more health effects than do other environmental contaminants.
From page 55...
... Smith proposed that there are some infectious agents of poverty that contribute to NCDs (for example, rheumatic heart disease) , but the use of solid fuels is the one environmental risk factor that is shared by essentially 100 percent of the bottom 2 billion people living in poverty.
From page 56...
... . Smith stated that data on solid fuel use have altered the environmental health risk paradigm: risk factors that were once considered solely household burdens are now recognized as affecting outdoor air pollution in communities and also global climate change.
From page 57...
... Additionally, she asked about the sustainability of nuclear energy given what is known about the limitations in the supply of nuclear materials to fuel the plants and how expanding nuclear power would impact the supply of the fuel. Daniel Schrag noted that people talk about the limitations of uranium, but in fact, the price of uranium has little impact on the price of nuclear power.
From page 58...
... For example, Kreisel said, in the Chernobyl accident, only 50 people had been killed initially by radiation, but there were hundreds of thousands of people who suffered from mental disorders and alcohol consumption because they believed they received a lethal dose of radiation. Smith agreed that there were major health impacts of the Chernobyl accident because of fear, disruption, anger, loss of jobs, and so forth; but, he asked, was that due to the accident or the poor information people received about the accident?
From page 59...
... Juli Trtanj added a comment about value and perceptions, noting that the climate debate can be framed in terms of helping people adapt and respond, rather than just focusing on the environmental or public health connection. Trtanj also said that there are adaptation options across time scales, with adaptation bordering on mitigation in the long term and adaptation on shorter time scales on the individual level.
From page 60...
... 2005. Improvement in household stoves and risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Xuanwei, China: Retrospective cohort study.
From page 61...
... 2012. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990-2010: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2010.
From page 62...
... 2005. How environmental health risks change with development: The epidemiologic and environmental risk transitions revisited.
From page 63...
... 2011c. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
From page 64...
... 2009. Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: Household energy.


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