EV sales as its main goal reduce carbon footprint and pollution levels. These cars are cleaner for the environment, but there are still skeptics who argue that their beneficial effect is not that great. A new study dispels that doubt.
Electric cars lead to better air
As we see in a new study led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the circulation of electric vehicles is already having an impact its noticed in our skies.
The findings, published in the professional journal Science of the Total Environment, analyzed how the arrival of these new environments affected the environment, using California, one of the most populous states in the United States, as an example. green vehicle And gradually eliminate burning.
The transition to electric vehicles is expected to have a considerable impact public health benefits, but most evidence on air quality and health effects comes from projections rather than real-world data. This study provides real data.
Specifically, the statistics analyzed are Ecological Research at the Postal Code Level The study correlated changes in the annual number of zero-emission vehicles per 1,000 population from 2013 to 2019 and correlated them with monitored annual mean nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations and age-adjusted annual asthma exacerbations, respectively. Emergency department visits were compared.
reduce air pollution
The original results of the study showed that for every 20 additional zero-emission vehicles per 1,000 people, there was a 3.2 percent drop in asthma-related emergency visits and a small reduction in nitrogen dioxide levels in the air.
he Nitrogen dioxide is an air pollutantmainly of anthropogenic origin, the main sources of which are road traffic, and emissions from certain industries and large combustion facilities.
Urban areas, especially large cities and their metropolitan areas, and near traffic routes with the highest traffic intensity, reach the highest levels.In urban areas, the estimated Over 75% of nitrogen dioxide in ambient air is caused by road traffic.
Elevated nitrogen dioxide levels can irritate the lungs and reduce their function.The irritation caused by this pollutant is associated with significant airway inflammation Increased mucus, which means increased bronchial reactivity, favors the development of respiratory infections such as bronchitis, especially in the elderly and immunosuppressed, and bronchiolitis in children. In addition, it increases the sensitivity of the lungs to bronchoconstriction, exacerbating symptoms in patients with chronic respiratory diseases, asthma and allergies. Other investigations have also linked air pollution to low birth weight and higher rates of preterm birth, making pregnant women a special protection group against these events.
Unfortunately, EV adoption is not the same across all of California’s sample regions. In areas with more funding, the technology is more readily available. In other areas, however, they have failed to adopt EVs in the same way.This also provides very rough data for research: in those with The proportion of electric vehicles is low, and respiratory diseases are still more in the population.