21,000 Canadians to die from air pollution this year

August 14, 2008   by Jozef Winter

This is certainly not the type of news one generally looks forward to hearing, but today the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) released a report which estimates that approximately 21,000 Canadians will die this year from air pollution. In a country like the United States, with nearly 10 times the population and more heavily polluted areas, the toll would certainly be higher than an order of magnitude. Think also of countries like China, Indonesia, and India, where the air pollution is even more atrocious and where medical services do not exist for the majority of the lower-income population; the figures must be astounding. Often we write about new technologies that will limit or do away with CO2 emissions, allow us to become sustainable, and help us wean ourselves from oil, and of course the benefits of reduced pollution are a given, but this report certainly highlights the magnitude of the benefits to cleaning up our act.

Coal-fired power plants, petroleum-powered transportation, and heavy industry contribute to the majority of our air pollution, and while we are making progress on better substitutes with alternative energies (solar, wind, wave), electric cars, and sustainable industry, we should probably redouble our efforts. Often our politicians cite that cleaning up our environment is an expensive ordeal and that it would be disastrous to the economy, but the report outlines that the economic impact of the current level of air pollution results in $10 billion (CAD) because of absenteeism, higher health care costs, and other factors. And this is just in Canada.

The majority of deaths will occur among those aged 65 and older, and those susceptible to pulmonary illnesses, but young children will also be affected, some sustaining permanent afflictions which will hamper their later lives and continue to be a financial burden. So instead of worrying about some minor potential economic declines (some argue that cleaning things up will actually benefit the economy, which we think likely), let’s actually get out there and make some changes.