Traffic on a Los Angeles freeway during the evening rush hour commute on April 12th, 2023. | Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images
A new report from the American Lung Association lays out the enormous health benefits of a nationwide shift to electric vehicles and clean energy. Alas, the potential payoff depends on the slim chance that lawmakers, automakers, and utilities can rise to the occasion to save tens of thousands of lives.
That optimistic scenario would cut enough pollution to prevent up to 89,300 premature deaths through 2050, the report finds. There would also be 2.2 million fewer asthma attacks over the same period of time. And since money talks, the health benefits add up to $978 billion and 10.7 million fewer lost workdays over the next few decades.
Those wonderful things only happen if the US sells only emissions-free passenger vehicles by 2035, even…
