How are energy choices and public health related?
Energy choices and both ecological and public health outcomes are intimately linked. Much of the fossil fuels we burn today for generating electricity, heating our buildings, and fueling our transportation emit particulates that impact pulmonary health (e.g., asthma and other breathing difficulties for children, the elderly, etc.), precursors to ground-level ozone and smog (like nitrous oxides that can lead to heart attacks and other respiratory problems along with harming plants, vistas, buildings, etc.), and greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. Climate change is occurring now and will have very large health impacts: from increased frequencies of droughts and heatwaves (which can harm vulnerable population like the elderly or those without air conditioning) to water pollution to the increased spread of disease-carrying organisms like mosquitoes. The spread and prevalence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile Virus, Lyme Disease, and the like could be inf
