with smoke from Canadian forest burning enveloping much of the Northeastern United States and the public schools of New York City and Washington, D.C., Cancellation of outside activitiesSome companies have asked employees to work from home and professional baseball teams have canceled games.
Such disruptions to normal urban life illustrate the widespread economic toll of climate change, which experts say exacerbates wildfires and contributes to air pollution.
“It’s gray and the sun looked orange in the sky this morning, like Star Wars or something,” Paul Billings, national vice president for public policy at the American Lung Association, told CBS MoneyWatch from Washington, D.C.
“It’s really early in the season, it’s still spring, and we’re seeing these wildfires in Canada and the US that are affecting air quality across the eastern US. In New England, across the mid-Atlantic and in Minnesota, we’re seeing elevated levels of particulate matter. or soot.”
These small particles are especially dangerous for people with heart disease, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but they carry risks for everyone, including risks of asthma attacks, heart attacks, stroke, or premature death.
“Some people need to take their medication more — others end up in the emergency room,” Billings said.
Because the type of particles in smoke are so small, they bypass the body’s natural defenses, such as the mucous membranes in the nose and throat as well as the body’s coughing mechanism.
“It penetrates deep into the lungs and is where the oxygen exchange systems are located,” Billings said. “These molecules actually get into your blood and cause a wide range of bad health outcomes, including stroke, heart attack, and various types of cancer.”
Wildfires aren’t the only source of particulate matter – diesel and coal-fired power trucks have historically contributed to the lion’s share of air pollution. But wildfires are a growing factor. In a report released in April, the American Lung Association noted that the increased frequency of wildfires in a hotter, drier climate has reversed some of the improvements in air quality since the Clean Air Act of 1970.
“amazing” costs
Global warming is contributing to the problem, with unusually high temperatures in Canada this year. Leighton, British Columbia — usually a temperate town — hit a record high of 121 degrees last week, tying up California’s Death Valley. Hot, dry weather makes the forest more likely to catch fire and burn longer. Indeed, Canada Forest fire season It is on its way to being the most destructive in the country’s history.
Globally, air pollution kills more than 3 million people annually, according to the World Health Assembly. In dollar terms, the costs are enormous and are reflected in increased hospitalizations, absenteeism and school days, and decreased worker productivity.
“The costs are staggering,” Billings said.
A recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council adds that air pollution adds $2,500 annually to Americans’ medical bills. The US Natural Resources Defense Council found that smoke, factory production and vehicle exhaust costs the economy $800 billion annually, or about 3% of the country’s total economic output.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, high levels of air pollution also reduce profits by making work more difficult and unpleasant, adding a huge burden to the economy. Outdoor workers, such as delivery workers, landscapers and teachers They are the hardest hit, But office workers are not necessarily safe. Studies have shown that even indoor air pollution rises to three or four times safe levels during wildfires is found.
$125 billion in lost pay
Researchers at Stanford University who charted the plumes of wildfires across the United States found that exposure to smoke in one day reduces an individual’s quarterly earnings by 0.1%, according to a recent report. a job paper published National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper found that across the United States, workers lost $125 billion a year to wildfire smoke — about 2% of all employment income.
Apart from smoke, hot air also increases smoke production ozoneIt is a major component of smog and a lung irritant. “Some researchers liken it to sunburn on the lungs—your cells get agitated and cry,” Billings said.
Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
As with other types of pollution, the effects of ozone, smog, and smoke are not evenly distributed, with low-income people and people of color most likely to be affected, according to the ALA.
Businesses and governments can take some steps, such as improving indoor filtration, not forcing workers outside and alerting issuing public service alerts about air quality. But Billings said that in the long term, reducing air pollution losses means spreading electricity. This would reduce emissions from transportation and factories.
“I think a lot of times people view these events as climate anomalies,” he said. “This is no fire accident. It’s early June. There have always been fires, but the big driver that creates these hot, dry conditions that creates opportunities for these fires is climate change.”
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