Diesel engine exhaust is definitely carcinogenic in human lungs, according to a scientific working group of the World Health Organization after a week-long meeting to review the evidence. Follow the story on MedPage.com
There is scary yet fascinating new research connectioning dirty air to mental health and behavioral problems in our children.
Read more about the public health study in Molly Rauch‘s article posted on Mom’s Clean Air Force
Let’s hear it for the bike!
In case you missed it, on Tuesday Zak Stone posted some good news about urban cycling. “How Biking Can Save Cities Billions” highlights optimistic findings published in Environmental Health Perspectives earlier this month. Researchers looked at the economic and health benefits of switching from a car to a bike for trips shorter than five miles long in 11 cities. Combining comprehensive data on medical expenses, mortality rates, automobile accidents, air pollution and physical fitness, the researchers found that if residents of each sample city switched to bikes for even half of their short trips, they’d create an annual net societal health benefit of $3.5 billion from the increase in air quality and $3.8 billion in savings from smaller health care costs associated with better fitness and fewer mortalities from a decreased rate of car accidents.
Time to invest in the bike share business.
Exposure to some types of air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide, is linked to an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to data just presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic condition that causes pain, stiffness and swelling in multiple joints. Researchers noted a correlation between long-term exposure to gaseous pollution (air pollution in gas form, such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide) and the development of RA. To learn more, read the presentation abstract.
