EXPECTANCY.
>> A NEW STUDY OUT OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SAYS AIR
POLLUTION TAKES MORE THAN TWO
YEARS OFF OF THE AVERAGE HUMAN'S
LIFESPAN MORE THAN SMOKING,
DISEASE, AND WAR.
THE STUDY IS OUT OF THE U OF C'S
AIR QUALITY LIFE INDEX AND
CONCLUDES IT'S DUE TO
PARTICULATE MATTER IN THE AIR
FROM BURNING FOSSIL FUELS AND
OTHER SOURCES.
WHILE TEMPORARY SHUTDOWNS
PROVIDED CLEAN UP AROUND THE
WORLD.
AND JOINING US WITH MORE IS KEN
LEE, DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY OF
CHICAGO'S AIR QUALITY LIFE INDEX
AND A SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
AT THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS.
KEN LEE, THANK YOU FOR JOINING
US.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME IT IS A
PLEASURE TO BE HERE.
>> YOUR RESEARCH CONCLUDES THAT
AIR POLLUTION TAKES TWO YEARS
OFF OF THE AVERAGE HUMAN'S
LIFESPAN.
EXPLAIN THOSE FINDINGS?
>> SURE, AS YOU MENTIONED THE
MOST DANGEROUS FORM OF AIR PLUNS
IS CAUSED BY FOSSIL FUEL
COMBUSTION.
P.M. 2.5 ARE FINE PARTICLES
SUSPENDED IN THE AIR AND CAN
ENTER OUR LUNGS, AND OUR
BLOODSTREAM CAUSING ALL SORTS OF
HEALTH ISSUES.
RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN SHOWING
FOR DECADES THAT BREATHING
POLLUTED AIR LEADS TO A HIGHER
RISK OF DYING FROM A VARIETY OF
CONDITIONS LIKE HEART DISEASE,
LUNG CANCER, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTED
PULMONARY DISEASE AND OTHERS N
MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD
AWARENESS OF THIS ISSUE IS
RELATIVELY LOW AND THIS IS
ESPECIALLY THE CASE IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WHERE P.M.
2.5 POLLUTION LEVELS CAN BE MANY
TIMES HIGHER THAN THE LEVELS
THAT WE TYPICALLY EXPERIENCE
HERE IN NORTH AMERICA AND IN
EUROPE.
>> AND P.M. 2.5 ALSO CALLED
PARTICULATE MATTER IN THE UNITED
STATES, THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN
BETTER OVER THE DECADES, HAS IT
NOT?
HOW BAD IS IT HERE?
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
WELL, ACTUALLY THE U.S. ON
AVERAGE IS A PRETTY CLEAN
COUNTRY COMPARED TO THE REST OF
THE WORLD.
THERE WAS A TIME IN HAD THE LATE
60s EARLY 70s WHEN AIR
POLLUTION WAS A HUGE ISSUE IN
THE U.S. BUT THE U.S. WAS
LARGELY ABLE TO ADDRESS EXTREME
AIR POLLUTION THROUGH THE U.S.
CLEAN AIR ACT, AND ESSENTIALLY
EFFECTIVE CLEAN AIR POLICIES.
>> THE AVERAGE AMERICAN IS NOT
HAVING THEIR LIFESPAN SHORTENED
VERY MUCH COMPARED TO OTHER
PARTS OF THE COUNTRY AND INDIA,
CHINA, THOSE ARE AREAS THAT HAVE
REALLY BAD POLLUTION.
SO HOW MANY YEARS CAN THE
AVERAGE HUMAN LIVING THERE
EXPECT TO HAVE TAKEN OFF THE END
OF THEIR LIFE BECAUSE OF
POLLUTION?
>> RIGHT.
WELL, 82% OF THE WORLD'S
POPULATION LIVES IN AREAS WHERE
PARTICULATE POLLUTION EXCEEDS
THE W.H.O. GUIDELINE.
SO IN PARTS OF SOUTH ASIA OR
MUCH OF SOUTH ASIA P.M. 2.5 IS
ON AVERAGE ROUGHLY 70 MICROGRAM,
SEVEN TIMES HIGHER.
GLOBALLY, THE AVERAGE P.M. 2.5
CONCENTRATION IN 2019 WAS ABOUT
32 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METERS
MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE W.H.O.
GUIDELINES.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AIR
POLLUTION, THE QUESTION PEOPLE
HAVE ARE NUMBER ONE HAUGH BAD IS
THE AIR POLLUTION IN MY COUNTRY
OR COMMUNITY WHERE I LIVE.
AND NUMBER TWO, HOW IS AIR
POLLUTION AFFECTING MY HEALTH
AND MY LIFE EXPECTANCY.
TO SORT OF EXPLAIN WHERE THE
NUMBERS COME FROM, WE OUR TEAM
AT THE ENERGY POLICY INSTITUTE
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
CREATED SOMETHING CALLED THE AIR
QUALITY LIFE INDEX WHICH IS A
WEBSITE THAT COMBINES HIGHLY
LOCALIZED SATELLITE DERIVED P.M.
2.5 DATA.
ALL ACROSS THE WORLD.
WITH ACADEMIC, ECONOMICS
RESEARCH THAT QUANTIFIES THE
CAUSAL EFFECT OF SUSTAINED
EXPOSURE TO HIGH POLLUTION
CONCENTRATIONS ON LIFE
EXPECTANCY.
SO WE PUT THOSE TWO THINGS
TOGETHER INTO AN MAP THAT LETS
USERS OR PEOPLE ZOOM INTO ANY
PART OF THE WORLD AND VIEW HOW
THE AVERAGE POLLUTION LEVEL HAS
CHANGED OVER TIME, WHAT THE
CURRENT AVERAGE POLLUTION LEVEL
IS, AND THEN MORE IMPORTANTLY,
ANSWER THE HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION
HOW MUCH LONGER WOULD PEOPLE
LIVE IF THIS LEVEL OF POLLUTION
WERE DROPPED DOWN TO THE
W.H.O.'S STANDARD OF 10
MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER.
SO WHEN YOU DO THAT, GLOBALLY,
THE HOI SHOWS THAT IF POLLUTION
CONCENTRATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD
COULD BE BROUGHT TO THE W.H.O.
GUIDELINES THE AVERAGE PERSON
WOULD LIVE 2.2 YEARS-LONGER.
>> WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?
AND YOU MENTION THAT CHINA WHICH
HAS HAD BIG TIME AIR POLLUTION
PROBLEMS ESPECIALLY IN THE
BIGGEST CITIES HAS TURNED THE
CORNER A BIT?
>> SO IN CHINA, IN THE 2000'S
CHINA WAS ONE OF THE TOP FIVE
MOST POLLUTED COUNTRIES IN THE
WORLD.
AROUND THE TIME OF THE BEIJING
OLYMPICS AWARENESS AND PUBLIC
CONCERN ABOUT THE ISSUE, BEGAN
TO INCREASE.
TO THE POINT THAT THERE WAS A
LOT OF PRESSURE ON THE
GOVERNMENT OF CHINA TO DO
SOMETHING.
IN 2013, POLLUTION LEVELS IN
BEIJING HAVE PEAKED AT 70
MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER.
SEVEN TIMES HIGHER THAN THE
W.H.O. GUIDELINES AND IN 2014
THE PREMIER OF CHINA ANNOUNCED A
WAR AGAINST POLLUTION AND
DIRECTED HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM.
THEY SET BOLD POLLUTION
REDUCTION TARGETS.
ESPECIALLY IN KEY AREAS LIKE
BEIJING.
THEY REQUIRED SOME OF THEIR
EXISTING COAL PLANTS TO REDUCE
THEIR EMISSIONS OR SWITCH TO
NATURAL GAS.
THEY EVEN BUILT POLLUTION
REDUCTION INCENTIVES INTO THE
PROMOTION FUNDS FOR LOCAL
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.
THEY HAD A HOST OF POLICIES AND
AS A RESULT CHINA HAS SEEN A
DECLINE OF ROUGHLY 30% BETWEEN
2013 AND 2019.
AND IF YOU TAKE THE HOI RESULTS
LITERALLY THAT TRANSLATES INTO
1.5 YEARS OF LIFE EXPECTANCY
GAIN FOR THE AVERAGE CHINESE
CITIZEN AS A RESULT OF THOSE
REDUCTIONS.
>> SO PROMISING SIGN FOR THE
MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY ON EARTH.
AND THE FACT THAT YOUR STUDY
PUTS IT IN SUCH STARK LIFE AND
DEATH TERMS PERHAPS THAT RAISES
AWARENESS ABOUT AIR POLLUTION AS