密歇根新闻广播 环境污染的隐性代价

We often hear about the economic costs of environmental regulation on the energy industry.

But there's a flip¹ side to that equation—the price society pays for pollution. One scientist has added up those costs. And she found they're going down.

Modeling the hidden costs of pollution

For years, scientists have known that pollution from burning fossil fuels is bad for us.

But can we place a dollar amount on the hidden costs of burning coal and other fossil fuels for electricity?

One person who wanted to know was Paulina Jaramillo, a Carnegie Mellon scientist. She studies how energy systems impact the environment.

Jaramillo called up a colleague. They designed a model to figure out those hidden costs.

The researchers plugged in pollution reports from the EPA, weather models and population data. They took into account the effects of pollution on crops, forests, and infrastructure². They also took into account how pollution affects human health.

Much of that cost hinges on one basic number. And it's kind of creepy number.

"Value of a statistical³ life—which is a number widely used in policy analyses to estimate mortality costs," she says.

The value of a statistical life is basically the amount of money we as a society are willing to spend to save someone's life. And according to the federal government, it's around $6 million these days.

How the cost of pollution has decreased

Since the early 2000s, emissions⁴ from sources like coal-fired power plants have been going down. And because of this, Jaramillo found that the annual cost of pollution declined from 2002 to 2011 by about 25 percent, to $130 billion.

"Because we started reducing those emissions, we reduced health impacts," she says. "These models cannot pinpoint⁵ who has specifically benefited, but on a population basis there are benefits."

Those benefits include fewer heart attacks and fewer ER visits for asthma⁶ that can be triggered by air pollution.

So, what happened?

Jaramillo says the big change is that new regulations forced many coal-fired power plants to clean up.

The Great Recession lowered demand for a few years, and cleaner sources, like natural gas, have cut into coal's share of the electricity market.

These costs of air pollution may be going down, but the price tag the researchers calculated is still around $400 per year for every person in the U.S.

This research was published in the journal Energy Policy.

1 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

4 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

5 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

6 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。