You Are What You Breathe: Cleaner Energy = Cleaner Air

You Are What You Breathe: Cleaner Energy = Cleaner Air

Did you know there are health benefits to transitioning to renewable energy you may not have considered? For one thing, you can literally breathe easier knowing that you are using renewable energy. That’s because adopting renewables can reduce dependence on fossil fuel-burning power plants that emit particulate matter into the air. These fine particulates include black carbon and other fossil fuel-produced pollutants. When these pollutants are emitted into the air we breathe, they can contribute to health problems such as asthma.

Let’s Clear the Air

Coal and natural gas plants emit pollution into the air and water that’s linked to a host of health issues from breathing problems, neurological damage, heart attacks, cancer, premature death, and other serious problems. A Harvard University study estimated the life cycle costs and public health effects of coal to be an estimated $74.6 billion every year.¹

Breathe Easy

Sourcing renewable energy through solar and wind power is better for our air quality because they do not emit pollutants, and this means we can breathe easier.

Cleaner Water Resources

Considering our planet is comprised of 70% water, clean water and clean air go hand-in-hand in ensuring a healthy environment. When water evaporates, it can absorb polluted particulates that are already in the air and further disperses them into the atmosphere.

Fossil fuels have a significant impact on water resources — and coal mining and natural gas drilling can pollute drinking water sources. Thermal power plants, including those powered by coal, gas, and oil, withdraw and consume water for cooling.

Wind and solar energy require little to no water to operate. That means they don’t pollute our water resources or strain the already precious water resources needed for agriculture, drinking water and other vital uses.

Empowering a Healthier Future

When it comes to the protecting the air we breathe, consider making energy choices that are cleaner and kinder to the environment. With community choice energy, you decide the amount of renewable energy you use — just another way OCPA empowers you to choose a sustainable future.

[1] Epstein, P.R.,J. J. Buonocore, K. Eckerle, M. Hendryx, B. M. Stout III, R. Heinberg, R. W. Clapp, B. May, N. L. Reinhart, M. M. Ahern, S. K. Doshi, and L. Glustrom. 2011. Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal in “Ecological Economics Reviews.” Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1219: 73–98.

SOURCES

About Orange County Power Authority

The Orange County Power Authority is a not-for-profit public agency that offers clean power at competitive rates, significantly reducing energy-related greenhouse emissions and enabling reinvestment in local energy programs. To learn more, visit www.ocpower.org.