Electric vehicles are good for health
Electric vehicles are bringing big news to modern society, not only cars but also scooters, bicycles and kick scooters are helping to improve air quality, an aspect that automatically translates into better health for everyone: the study conducted by the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California linked the spread of electric vehicles to better health.
Let's put aside the global warming aspect for a moment and focus on the health of the individual who lives in urban environments: obviously the study was conducted in California, one of the states in the world where we have seen the greatest diffusion of electric vehicles in all possible forms. The university research team examined different areas of California comparing the number of electric vehicle registrations with the levels of pollution in the air, and finally with the number of emergency room visits linked to asthma episodes, among 2013 is 2019.
The trend was immediately clear: as the number of zero-emission cars increases in a given geographical area, the number of visits to the emergency room for asthma attacks decreases, so such as the levels of pollution in the air.
“When we think about the effects of our actions regarding global warming, we inevitably think of global effects. The idea that changes made at the local level can improve the health of the community around us is a very powerful message for the public and for those who govern.” said Erika Garcia, Ph.D.
The study states that for every 20 zero-emission vehicles introduced in a community of 1000 people, the number of emergency room arrivals due to asthma drops by 3.2%; between 2013 and 2019 the adoption rate of zero emission vehicles increased from 1.4 to 14.6 vehicles per 1000 people.
Despite the benefits, even in a state like California, electric vehicles spread only in the richest and most served areas; precisely in this period there is an ongoing debate that pushes to convince local governments to invest in the charging infrastructure even in less wealthy areas, so as to push the diffusion of zero-emission vehicles. According to the research, a massive diffusion of electric vehicles could translate into reduced health care costs, an aspect that certainly has the potential to convince those responsible to make radical decisions.