Burning coal takes toll on human lives

Health and environment experts now agree that fossil fuel, including coal, is taking its toll on developing countries. The toxins released by burning fuel has made the world warmer and carried the trail of hazard everywhere, including households, affecting people’s health. 

Today, three known health impacts of coal belong to the ten leading causes of death in the Philippines: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart problems, and respiratory diseases. In highly industrialized countries like India and China, hundreds of thousands of people are dying because of coal-related illnesses.

Greenpeace puts these discussions into perspective as it reports death tolls in the Philippines and other Asian nations. Commissioning Harvard University for their 2015 report, Coal: A Public Health Crisis, the organization claimed that the Philippines experiences an estimated 960 deaths annually due to health risks from fossil fuels. They identified respiratory complications, ischemic heart disease, and stroke as major concerns locally.

 

In 2013, the group launched a similar but more comprehensive study in India and China. Their investigation estimates that India suffers 120,000 coal-related deaths annually, while China bears as many as 366,000 casualties per year. Global estimates, meanwhile, set these premature deaths to as much as 5.5 million people. These figures are expected to go up, as Asian countries continue to pour investments in coal-fired power plants.

 

A similar, devastating pattern is shared by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Their report reveals that in the last 20 years, the region has been battered by climate change, affecting 2.27 billion people in China, 805 million in India, and 130 million in the country.

 

Respiratory difficulties have always been traced back to smoke, but studies like Coal’s Assault on Human Health and other medical investigations have uncovered a more extensive effect of coal combustion on people. Multiple cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, arrhythmia and neurological damages like stroke and developmental delay, are now linked to the use of coal.

Heavily-polluted China has also been closely monitoring its air quality, after registering coal particles that are smaller than viruses.  

Last year, Beijing issued its first red alert warning, suspending classes and the work day to minimize the hazard of the smog. China Daily reports that deaths from lung cancer will skyrocket to 700,000 by year 2020. With plenty of studies reporting coal’s increasing risks to its population, China has introduced a policy-shift that halts the construction of new coal plants and commits to cleaner energy source targets. 

Fortunately, the death sentence of coal can still be lifted. Filipinos can put out the menace of dirty energy and choose a healthier future by shifting to renewable energy.