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How solar energy affects human health

Millie HennickAugust 28, 2018 1169 0

How solar energy affects human health

Researchers are beginning to study the benefits of the renewable energy revolution. Clearly, the burning of fossil fuels is extremely dangerous to the overall health of the planet. The substantial increase in wind and solar energy helped prevent the premature deaths of up to 12,700 people over a nine-year period in the US, according to a new study. This demonstrates the wider benefits of ditching fossil fuels beyond limiting global warming.

Lower carbon emissions with solar

These lower carbon emissions were worth billions of dollars as a result of the elimination of the range of problems caused by fossil fuels, according to a study published in the journal, Nature Energy. The UK Government has pledged that the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned from 2040 – a deadline criticized by environmentalists as being too far in the future to make a substantial difference. By contrast, Norway plans to phase out such vehicles by 2025.

Thousands of deaths due to air pollution

According to the Royal College of Physicians, about 40,000 deaths a year in the UK are “attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution”, which has been associated with “cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity and changes linked to dementia”.
New research, which was funded by the US Department of Energy, found there had been significant declines in major air pollutants between 2007 and 2015.
Carbon dioxide fell by 20 percent, sulfur dioxide by a staggering 72 percent, nitrogen oxide by 50 percent and tiny particles known as PM2.5 by 46 percent. While some of this was due to fossil fuels being replaced by renewable energy, tougher emission regulations also played a part. Sulfur dioxide emissions decreased from nine million tonnes in 2007 to 2.5 million tonnes in 2015 after coal power plants were forced to install equipment that filters gas out to meet air quality standards.

Agriculture, floods, and human health

These include “changes to agricultural productivity, energy use, losses from disasters such as floods, human health, and general ecosystem services”.
Sam Bright, a lawyer at environmental activist group ClientEarth, which has twice successfully sued the Government over sub-standard air quality plans, stated it was clear that "moving away from coal brings major health benefits".
But he added: "It's essential that we make sure we use the opportunity the end of coal gives us to create the energy system of the future.
"That means replacing coal power stations with renewables, yes, but also making sure energy efficiency is top of the agenda and we build storage and flexibility into the system to lower and manage demand.
"A cleaner, more flexible energy system will mean fewer emissions of those pollutants that are harming people and our planet."

Join the solar revolution!

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. 

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles. 

Solar system price checker

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