The Benefits Of Air Pollution Control: Where’s The Beef?

This is an interesting article.  The author looks at the data and shows that cleaning up the air really hasn't moved the needle on deaths as we would have hoped it would.  Cleaning up air emissions that cause smog was supposed to improve our quality of life.  But did it really?

I certainly can't say I prefer a world covered in smog with little light from the sun shining through.  The author brings up the fact that the only people affected by coal burning in the UK in the 1950s were those who were already suffering from respiratory - cardio illnesses.

But wasn't that the intent on controlling emissions?  To improve our quality of life as we age over time?  For sure, the young will always have the ability and resilience to overcome wide ranges of pollutions.

I don't think there is anyone that thinks it's a good idea to completely wipe out existing pollution control regulations.  But maybe, we past the point of diminishing returns and can ease up a little and take the Heavy Boot off the neck of industry and replace it with a soft slipper.

It’s been 50 years since cleaning up the air in the United States began in earnest. Skies are much clearer now than in the mid-20th century. Leaded gasoline is gone, power plants have been abandoning coal and sulfur dioxide has dropped by 91%. Despite these growing improvements, why have epidemiologists been unable to show the demonstrable public health benefits that their computer models predict?