Cardiovascular disease—risk benefits of clean fuel technology and policy: A statistical analysis

Abstract

The hypothesis of this study is that there is a statistical relationship between the cardiovascular disease mortality rate and the intensity of fuel consumption (measured in gallons/square mile) at a particular location. We estimate cross-sectional regressions of the mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease against the intensity of fuel consumption using local data for the entire US, before the US Clean Air Act (CAA) in 1974 and after the most recent policy revisions in 2004. The cardiovascular disease rate improvement estimate suggests that up to 60 cardiovascular disease deaths per 100,000 residents are avoided in the largest urban areas with highest fuel consumption per square mile. In New York City, for instance, the mortality reduction may be worth about $30.3 billion annually. Across the US, the estimated Value of Statistical Life (VSL) benefit is $202.7 billion annually. There are likely three inseparable reasons that contributed importantly to this welfare improvement. First, the CAA regulations banned leaded gasoline, and mandated reduction in specific chemicals and smog components. Second, technologies such as the Catalytic Converter (CC) for the automobile and the low particulate diesel engine were adopted. Third, biofuels have had important roles, making the adoption of clean air technology possible and substituting for high emission fuels.

Health Effects of Air Pollution in China

“…Our results confirmed that air pollution has significant adverse impacts on public health, especially in Central/Western China, which accords with many previous studies e.g., [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 11 ]. Past studies mostly examined the potential health effects of air pollution by analyzing average AOI or PM as an independent variable representing air pollution [ 11 , 40 , 41 ].…”

“…The adverse health effects of air pollution have generated considerable interest, and studies confirm that exposure to air pollution increases health risks, including adverse cardiovascular, respiratory, pulmonary, and other health-related outcomes [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The economic and social harms of air pollution arising from its negative effects on public health have been widely discussed, especially in China [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Happiness in the air: How does a dirty sky affect mental health and subjective well-being?

“…It has been well documented that exposure to air pollution increases more tangible health risks, such as cardiovascular diseases (Gallagher et al 2010), respiratory diseases (Moretti and Neidell 2011; Beatty and Shimshack 2014), hospitalizations (Neidell 2009; Lleras-Muney 2010), and mortality (Jayachandran 2009; Chen et al 2013; Greenstone and Hanna 2014; Tanaka 2015). However, much less is known about how air pollution impairs less tangible outcomes like SWB and mental health, which complement the direct monetary measures of welfare (Graham 2005).…”

The association between PM2.5 exposure and suicidal ideation: a prefectural panel study

“…While numerous factors have been recognized in affecting suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB), such as, life stresses, chronic pain and illness, conflict, disaster, violence, losses, et al [6], the environmental risks have been poorly understood. As a heatedly discussed dimension, air pollution has a detrimental impact on individual health, including higher rates of mortality [11][12][13][14][15], increased incidence of stroke [16], respiratory diseases [17][18][19], and lung and cardiovascular dysfunction [20][21][22][23][24][25][26], to name a few. In fact, air pollution has been revealed to be complicit in over 4 million deaths globally since 2015 [27].…”