“Air pollution is expensive. Like, really freaking expensive. That’s why it’s worthwhile to keep our air clean. A study out recently has found that reduced air pollution levels between 1999 and 2013 saved the U.S some $24 billion a year looking only at the benefits to elderly people and early deaths related to the air they breathe.
The study published in the American Economic Review last month looked at how efforts to reduce air pollution from 1999 to 2013 in the U.S. reduced the number of elderly deaths. This is the first study to examine the short-term impacts of particulate matter at this level. The findings rely on about 40 billion data points, including daily pollution exposure for tens of millions of elderly people.”
View the whole story here: https://earther.gizmodo.com/reducing-air-pollution-saved-the-us-24-billion-on-elde-1841267976