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My new post: the latest research on air pollution is jaw-dropping. Scientists now believe its effects on health & mortality are roughly *double* previous estimates. If that’s true, air-quality benefits alone will easily pay for the clean-energy transition. https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/8/12/21361498/climate-change-air-pollution-us-india-china-deaths?utm_campaign=drvox&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter">https://www.vox.com/energy-an...
https://www.votwitter.com/energy-and-environment/2020/8/12/21361498/climate-change-air-pollution-us-india-china-deaths?utm_campaign=drvox&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
Just want to add a quick note to today& #39;s piece 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👆" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach oben">before moving on. We get tangled up in energy discussions about LCOE & lifecycle costs & the cost of intermittency & etc. But this air-quality research casts a light on the simple fact ...
... that virtually ANY substitution away from fossil fuel combustion is "worth it" when total social costs/benefits are taken into account. Air pollution is so insidious that the market "cost" of FF could be practically $0 & they *still* wouldn& #39;t pencil out.
So remember, when discussing the costs of clean-energy transition, it& #39;s never about whether it& #39;s worth it, all things considered. It absolutely, unequivocally, indisputably is. The discussions are, in reality, always about WHO pays the costs & reaps the benefits.
Fossil fuels concentrate wealth in the hands of a few at the expense of the many. And they concentrate the costs in the most vulnerable communities. Energy fights are not about "nature" or even climate really. They& #39;re about income inequality & racism, just like ...
... all the other issues progressives care about.
Getting off of fossil fuels is racial justice, generational justice, & economic justice. It& #39;s a fight against concentrated wealth on behalf of ordinary citizens. Saving the polar bears is just gravy.
Getting off of fossil fuels is racial justice, generational justice, & economic justice. It& #39;s a fight against concentrated wealth on behalf of ordinary citizens. Saving the polar bears is just gravy.
Worth adding to this thread: a recent @Greenpeace report found that air pollution takes 4.5 million lives & shaves $2.9 trillion from GDP every year, globally speaking. In the US, it& #39;s 230,000 lives & $600 billion in GDP. A holocaust in plain sight. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/research/toxic-air-price-fossil-fuels-pollution/">https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/resea...
