POWER GREEN
Escaping The Fossils: How Much Will Electric Cars Save The Environment Through Cleaner Air Last month, an incident happened that made me so reflective of how much pollution we release in oceans and air and then expect clean air. I was driving home, I can’t remember the time well, but what I do know is it was a chilled evening. So I’m driving 50Mph and suddenly I see black smoke ahead of me, I thought well, it must’ve been an accident because there’s no way such a vehicle would be allowed on the road. To my surprise, as we pull up to the traffic lights, I notice there wasn’t an accident, it was actually a vehicle on the road! It made me think, what about there were ten or even 20 trucks like that… imagine the damage we are putting out! One study by the America Lung Association revealed that billions could be saved once we make a transition from fossil fuels. Even without looking at the monetary gain of doing the right thing, imagine how many lives would be saved.
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The study continues to say that thousands of premature deaths could be averted and health care costs significantly reduced. The report “The Road to Clean Air” is a national report that highlights the potential for major public health benefits that would accrue to the nation as a result of widespread electrification of the transportation sector especially if this transition happens along with a similar move to have renewable energy power to homes and businesses. Prior to this report, there was another study that found that nearly half of Americans are living with and breathing unclean air and there are direct traces of this unhealthy air in the transportation sector. More so, this huge industry has been linked to climate change and massive air pollution. “America stands to benefit from cleaner air through a transition to electric vehicles,’’ said American Lung Association CEO and president Harold Wimmer. “Electric vehicles mean zero emissions from cars, buses, and trucks, translating to cleaner air and better health for all Americans.’’ speaking of electric cars, did you know that a decade ago there was only a handful of these, in fact, less than one-
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am quite sure that you weren’t aware that cleaner air from zero-emission vehicles could save hundreds of thousands of lives.
