India | Report: Korba’s coal communities suffer twice the normal respiratory diseases in times of COVID-19

India | Report: Korba’s coal communities suffer twice the normal respiratory diseases in times of COVID-19

Korba’s coal communities suffer from twice the normal respiratory diseases in times of COVID19: SHRC Chhattisgarh

3 April 2020, New Delhi/Raipur: Chhattisgarh’s State Health Resource Centre (SHRC) releases a new study which assesses the health impact on communities in Korba living near coal-fired thermal power plants. The study affirms the hypothesis that the population living near thermal power plants has greater exposure to particulate matter resulting in higher respiratory illnesses than the general population. At a time when the country is in a lockdown …

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South Africa | Study: US$107-242 billion of externalities across lifecycle of South Africa’s Kusile Coal Plant

South Africa | Study: US$107-242 billion of externalities across lifecycle of South Africa’s Kusile Coal Plant

According to a study published in South African Journal of Science, the total coal-fuel cycle externality cost on both the environment and humans over the Kusile Coal Fired Power Station’s lifespan was estimated at ZAR1 449.9 billion to ZAR3 279 billion or 91c/kWh to 205c/kWh sent out (baseline: ZAR2 172.7 billion or 136c/kWh). Accounting for the life-cycle burdens and damages of coal-derived electricity conservatively, doubles to quadruples the price of electricity, making renewable energy sources such as wind and solar attractive alternatives. Read more.

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South Africa | Report: Coal Plants Cause 2,200 Premature Deaths and Cost $2 Billion Annually

South Africa | Report: Coal Plants Cause 2,200 Premature Deaths and Cost $2 Billion Annually

Air pollution from coal-fired power stations kills more than 2,200 South Africans every year, and causes thousands of cases of bronchitis and asthma in adults and children annually. This costs the country more than R30 billion annually, through hospital admissions and lost working days.

These findings were presented by UK-based air quality and health expert Dr. Mike Holland to the Department of Environmental Affairs, members of the Environmental Affairs and Health Portfolio Committees, and to the Public Health Association of South Africa in September 2017.

Dr. Holland told decision-makers that …

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South Africa | Death and destruction: What’s left out of energy planning

South Africa | Death and destruction: What’s left out of energy planning

The South African Department of Energy’s released Integrated Resource Plan does not seriously factor in the pollution impact of its current and planned energy mix and appears to have distorted the data to favour coal and nuclear, writes David Hallowes, researcher for groundWork (Healthy Energy Initiative’s partner in South Africa):

Pollution from Eskom’s [coal-fired] power plants result in 2,240 attributable deaths each year. And every day, some 11,000 people are physically restricted in what they can do while 2,700 lose the day’s work. The economic impact is …

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Global | 92% of the world’s population exposed to excessive air pollution, WHO says

Global | 92% of the world’s population exposed to excessive air pollution, WHO says

A new World Health Organization (WHO) air quality model confirms that 92% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits. Information is presented via interactive maps, highlighting areas within countries that exceed WHO limits.

“The new WHO model shows countries where the air pollution danger spots are, and provides a baseline for monitoring progress in combatting it,” says Dr Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director General at WHO. It also represents the most detailed outdoor (or ambient) air pollution-related health data, by …

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India | Environmental health expert visits coal plants to jumpstart research

India | Environmental health expert visits coal plants to jumpstart research

From September 12 to 23, 2016, Dr. Peter Orris, Professor and Chief of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System and scientific adviser to Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), visited several coal plant communities that will undergo an environmental health impact assessment as part of HCWH’s Healthy Energy Initiative work in India.

Facilitated by Community Environmental Monitors (CEM), our Healthy Energy Initiative partner in India, Dr. Orris’s visit also included lectures and workshops delivered in several academic and research …

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US | Harvard study finds $33b annual net benefit from a power plant carbon standard

US | Harvard study finds $33b annual net benefit from a power plant carbon standard

CC BY-NC 2.0 Robert S. Donovan via Flickr

Nearly all U.S. regions stand to gain health and economic benefits from power plant carbon standards similar to the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s climate change plan, according to a new study by scientists from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Syracuse University, Resources for the Future, and the Harvard Forest, Harvard University as a project of the Science Policy Exchange.

In the study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, the …

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US & Philippines | Renewable energy is good for health too, says Harvard expert

US & Philippines | Renewable energy is good for health too, says Harvard expert

This post was originally published by HCWH-Asia.

On March 10, 2016, Health Care Without Harm-Asia helped organize two public events which were graced by Dr. Jonathan Buonocore, program leader for climate, energy, and health of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Jonathan Buonocore speaks about his research during the press conference.

In the morning, Dr. Buonocore, who also served as resource speaker in a three-day workshop on Health Impact Assessments also organized by HCWH-Asia last March 7 to 9, gave a lecture …

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Philippines | The Human Cost of Coal

Philippines | The Human Cost of Coal

by Dr. Renzo Guinto (*)

Last February 3, 2016, we Health Care Without Harm-Asia, through our Healthy Energy Initiative, joined Greenpeace and other partner organizations in launching the report entitled “Coal: A Public Health Crisis. Diseases and deaths attributed to coal use in the Philippines.” This Greenpeace-commissioned study conducted by Harvard University revealed that currently, there are roughly 960 deaths annually due to existing coal-fired power plants, which may increase up to 2,410 once the 29 proposed coal plants become operational.

In many ways, this study is very timely …

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Philippines | Recent study shows health impacts of coal felt by local communities

HCWH-Asia’s Healthy Energy Initiative with residents living near a coal-fired power plant in Masinloc, Zabales

A recent study revealed that communities in the Philippines hosting coal-fired power plants are already experiencing negative impacts on their health, environmental conditions, economic situation, and over-all wellbeing. The results of this study provide solid support for Health Care Without Harm-Asia‘s Healthy Energy Initiative’s public health-driven push for the phasing out of coal and other fossil fuel-based energy sources and for shifting to healthier, cleaner, and more climate-friendly renewable …

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