China (HK) pollution takes years off your life....who would have thought..?
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China (HK) pollution takes years off your life....who would have thought..?
China smog cuts 5.5 years from average life expectancy, study finds
By Leslie Hook in Beijing
©GettySmog engulfs a cyclist in Beijing
China’s air pollution has cut life expectancy by an average of 5.5 years in the north of the country and caused higher rates of lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes, according to a groundbreaking study.
The worsening toxic smog in northern China became an issue of national concern after air pollution spiked to record levels in Beijing in January, prompting worried citizens to stock up on air filters and face masks. Pollution domes, which provide filtered air for sports activities, are also increasingly common.
But the body of scientific research on the health impact is slim because there is little historical precedent for prolonged exposure to such high levels of air pollution.
Using decades of pollution data from across China, the new study, co-authored by professors from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, Tsinghua University and Peking University in Beijing, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, calculates that air pollution in the north caused the loss of 2.5bn years of aggregate human life expectancy during the 1990s.
“This is the first time anyone has got the data to show how severe long-term pollution affects human health, both in terms of life expectancy and the types of disease,” said Li Hongbin, an economics professor at Tsinghua University and a co-author of the study.
“It shows how high the cost of pollution is in terms of human life – and that it is worth it for the government to spend more money to solve the pollution issue, even if we have to sacrifice growth.”
Mr Li estimates the shorter life expectancy identified by the study in northern China is equivalent to reducing the workforce there by one-eighth.
China’s breakneck economic development during the past three decades has been accompanied by the widespread degradation of air, soil and water. Environmental worries are now a growing source of social unrest and public protest, particularly because of health concerns. In response, Beijing has tightened environmental laws and regulations but these efforts have so far had little impact in reversing decades of damage.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the prestigious US journal, compares populations north and south of the Huai River, which runs through central China. Air pollution is much worse north of the river because of a government policy to distribute free coal for heating in winter.
Using pollution data from 1981-2000 and health data from 1991-2000, the study found that an increase of 100 micrograms of total particulate matter per cubic metre, a common measure of air pollution, corresponded to a three-year reduction in average life expectancy. The difference between the north and south of the river was about 185 micrograms per cubic metre.
“What we found is that people who live just north of the river have life expectancy of five and a half years [less],” said Michael Greenstone, a professor of environmental economics at MIT and a co-author of the study.
“Part of the novelty of this study is that this was conducted with data on actual pollution measurements in China, and actual health and life expectancy in China. It is not an extrapolation,” he said.
Most previous calculations of the health cost of Chinese pollution are extrapolated from research conducted in the US, where overall pollution levels are much lower.
By Leslie Hook in Beijing
©GettySmog engulfs a cyclist in BeijingChina’s air pollution has cut life expectancy by an average of 5.5 years in the north of the country and caused higher rates of lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes, according to a groundbreaking study.
The worsening toxic smog in northern China became an issue of national concern after air pollution spiked to record levels in Beijing in January, prompting worried citizens to stock up on air filters and face masks. Pollution domes, which provide filtered air for sports activities, are also increasingly common.
But the body of scientific research on the health impact is slim because there is little historical precedent for prolonged exposure to such high levels of air pollution.
Using decades of pollution data from across China, the new study, co-authored by professors from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, Tsinghua University and Peking University in Beijing, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, calculates that air pollution in the north caused the loss of 2.5bn years of aggregate human life expectancy during the 1990s.
“This is the first time anyone has got the data to show how severe long-term pollution affects human health, both in terms of life expectancy and the types of disease,” said Li Hongbin, an economics professor at Tsinghua University and a co-author of the study.
“It shows how high the cost of pollution is in terms of human life – and that it is worth it for the government to spend more money to solve the pollution issue, even if we have to sacrifice growth.”
Mr Li estimates the shorter life expectancy identified by the study in northern China is equivalent to reducing the workforce there by one-eighth.
China’s breakneck economic development during the past three decades has been accompanied by the widespread degradation of air, soil and water. Environmental worries are now a growing source of social unrest and public protest, particularly because of health concerns. In response, Beijing has tightened environmental laws and regulations but these efforts have so far had little impact in reversing decades of damage.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the prestigious US journal, compares populations north and south of the Huai River, which runs through central China. Air pollution is much worse north of the river because of a government policy to distribute free coal for heating in winter.
Using pollution data from 1981-2000 and health data from 1991-2000, the study found that an increase of 100 micrograms of total particulate matter per cubic metre, a common measure of air pollution, corresponded to a three-year reduction in average life expectancy. The difference between the north and south of the river was about 185 micrograms per cubic metre.
“What we found is that people who live just north of the river have life expectancy of five and a half years [less],” said Michael Greenstone, a professor of environmental economics at MIT and a co-author of the study.
“Part of the novelty of this study is that this was conducted with data on actual pollution measurements in China, and actual health and life expectancy in China. It is not an extrapolation,” he said.
Most previous calculations of the health cost of Chinese pollution are extrapolated from research conducted in the US, where overall pollution levels are much lower.
Last edited by Trafalgar; 9th Jul 2013 at 05:01.
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Re part of your Title
China and Hong Kong not the same thing old chap. See:-
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat.../2102rank.html
We know this list must be right, according to Edward, they've done the research. Interesting Snippets from the life expectancy league table:-
No. 100 China
No. 51 US of A
No. 30 UK
No. 9 Hong Kong
No. 2 Macau
Other factors exist I hear you say - correct! But still, not quite the killer it's claimed.
China (HK)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat.../2102rank.html
We know this list must be right, according to Edward, they've done the research. Interesting Snippets from the life expectancy league table:-
No. 100 China
No. 51 US of A
No. 30 UK
No. 9 Hong Kong
No. 2 Macau
Other factors exist I hear you say - correct! But still, not quite the killer it's claimed.
If one of your family members is one of the 1500 odd that die from pollution each year, I'm sure knowing that HK has (supposedly) one of the highest life expectancies in the world will more than compensate, in fact you can go and tell all your friends to justify putting the rest of you family at risk.
Look out the window 70% of the year and tell me that's doing you no harm.... It's scary they let you fly aeroplanes
Look out the window 70% of the year and tell me that's doing you no harm.... It's scary they let you fly aeroplanes
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Denial takes on many different forms. I would say those life expectancy figures do not factor in the recent Chinese manufacturing explosion, I would love to see those figures in the next 10 years, you'll see a markedly different picture.
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White None,
You can't be serious, can you?
You can't be serious, can you?
Discuss.
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White None - reason for HK being so high on the list is the people dying now have lived through the clean years - pre-Shenzhen boom. Come back in 30 years and HK will be at the bottom of the list with China.
Nice try.
Nice try.
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You could be right - I havent done a study, I didn't claim to have done a study, I reported the upto date facts from ..... the CIA. The way I read it the claim is that it is for people now. It's a doozy, coz if it's true HKG is an OK place to be and if not the CIA are talking crap .... and again .... Surely not!?!
Last edited by White None; 16th Jul 2013 at 08:37.
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Japan, which has held the top spot for the world’s longest living citizens, is expected to be surpassed by Hong Kong in 2045, according to projections in a U.N. population report released on Thursday.
Thinking of changing name to "The Messenger" so I won't get shot .... oh hang on
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http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images...4040624_md.jpg China seen from space
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Extension beyond 65??
OK, the pollution around here cuts 5 years off your life.
So, when I get to 65, does that mean I won't have to retire, because I'll really only be 60???
So, when I get to 65, does that mean I won't have to retire, because I'll really only be 60???
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Ah, White None you dear, simple, sweet, innocent thing you...
CIA Predictions:
Backing this Osama Bin Laden guy will be a good move for us....
UN Predictions:
UN predict success in Syria (Apr 2012)....
Keep reading the government 'truth' old fruit.
CIA Predictions:
Backing this Osama Bin Laden guy will be a good move for us....
UN Predictions:
UN predict success in Syria (Apr 2012)....
Keep reading the government 'truth' old fruit.
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@ N1
'They', do say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Personally I believe that merely defines, 'They', as people unable to create, understand or counter the subtlety of the ancient sport of good ole ironic jousting.
Your thing, my vibrating friend from the Valleys, is the somewhat pathetic trait of anonymous condescension. Can't imagine you being quite so arrogant if it were truly 'Leeks at Dawn'.
Spleen vented, (although I'd prefer the Leek thing), to recap my posts, which you so stubbornly prefer to, well, not read I guess? ...
I don't believe it either. I'm poking fun at the CIA and hoping for a bite from my esteemed and beloved NAM colleagues, whose dodgy conflicts I've also been hoodwinked into. (Did we really buy that?)
Finally....
???? Freudian slip there?
Your thing, my vibrating friend from the Valleys, is the somewhat pathetic trait of anonymous condescension. Can't imagine you being quite so arrogant if it were truly 'Leeks at Dawn'.
Spleen vented, (although I'd prefer the Leek thing), to recap my posts, which you so stubbornly prefer to, well, not read I guess? ...
"The Messenger"
Finally....
"Old Fruit"
