4 ms·

Agreed. A recent Stuttgart University report (commissioned by Greenpeace) estimated 22,000 premature deaths per year in the EU alone from coal-fired power stati

by ddeck 13y ago

Agreed. A recent Stuttgart University report (commissioned by Greenpeace) estimated 22,000 premature deaths per year in the EU alone from coal-fired power stations. [1] I've seen estimates in the US of 10-20,000 annually depending on the source. e.g. [2], [3]. As someone who lives in a city state so small that the coal-fired power stations are literally next door to housing, I too wish there was more attention given to this. [1] http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/climate/2013/Silent-Killers.pdf http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international... [2] http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/renewables/coal-pollution-fatalities http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/renewables/coal-p... [3] http://www.catf.us/fossil/problems/power_plants/ http://www.catf.us/fossil/problems/power_plants/

deegles 13y ago
Don't forget that burning coal releases more radioactivity into the environment than nuclear power (because of trace amounts of uranium).
- michaelbuckbee 13y ago
  This is where the marketing of various energy options comes into play. The discussion might be different if it was "burning uranium laced coal" vs "controlled nuclear generation"
throwaway_yy2Di 13y ago
That could actually be low. This paper estimates 90,000-380,000 deaths/year in the US from combustion, with 23,000-98,000 attributed to power plants (coal): http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/study-air-pollution-causes-200000-early-deaths-each-year-in-the-us-0829.html http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/study-air-pollution-cause... PDF paper: http://lae.mit.edu/wordpress2/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/US-air-pollution-paper.pdf http://lae.mit.edu/wordpress2/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/US-... (Agreeing, needless to say)