Burning fossil fuels puts out a lot more than just CO2.
Natural ventilation is all the rage among architects these days; London’s new Bloomberg headquarters has it. But you really have to wonder whether anyone would want to open a window in that city, knowing that the air quality is so bad, and now learning how bad breathing polluted air actually is.
It’s all about the tiny particulates smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). Data about them were hidden in a haze of tobacco smoke for years, but their significance is now being recognized: they don’t just get caught in the lungs but cross into the bloodstream. Damian Carrington writes in the Guardian:
New research, published in the European Heart Journal, indicates that while air pollution hits the lungs first, its impact via the bloodstream on heart disease and strokes is responsible for twice as many deaths as respiratory diseases.
Prof Jos Lelieveld of the Max-Plank Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, and also part of the team, said: “Since most air pollutants come from the burning of fossil fuels, we need to switch to other sources of energy urgently. When we use clean, renewable energy, we are not just fulfilling the Paris agreement to mitigate the effects of climate change, we could also reduce air pollution-related death rates by up to 55%.”
Heart disease is disabling, as well as fatal.
Penny Woods, the chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “Toxic air doesn’t just cut lives short. It also seriously affects the health and quality of life of millions of people.”
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