WEST PALM BEACH, FL – According to a new report released by the American Lung Association (ALA), if the United States ceased the sale of all internal combustion engines by 2035 and replaced them entirely with electric vehicles (EVs), as many as 89,300 lives could be prevented from ending prematurely from numerous cardiovascular related health issues by 2050.
Published on Wednesday, the report notes that the carbon pollution that drives the current climate crisis is driven in large part by vehicle emissions, and contribute significantly to the risk of premature death or chronic conditions like asthma, heart problems, depression and even Alzheimer’s. Switching entirely to zero-emission vehicles would greatly reduce the risk of people contracting these maladies, the ALA says.
In addition to the health benefit, the move to mass EV adoption would also create a financial benefit as well, saving an approximate $978 billion in spending on healthcare-related benefits that could then be allocated to addressing other medical needs in the country.
William Barrett, author of the ALA report “Driving to Clean Air: Health Benefits of Zero-Emission Cars and Electricity” and national senior director for clean air advocacy for the ALA, said that “There are very clear benefits of zero-emission technologies.”
This transition to zero-emission technologies is critical as a whole but especially critical in making sure that we’re targeting policies and investments and incentive programs so that all communities can take advantage of these health benefits and more healthier transportation choices,” Barrett said.
The goal of switching entirely to EV’s by 2035, however, may be a difficult one to achieve without significant up-front investment; the number of people adopting zero-emission vehicles is growing, but the fact is that they still represent a small minority of overall vehicles sold currently.
According to reports, just 4.6 percent of cars sold in the country in 2021 were electric, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.