Minnesota Should Transition To All E-Vehicles

St Paul (KROC AM News) – The American Lung Association has released a report that includes a recommendation dealing with battery-powered vehicles.

The report “illustrates the potential health and climate benefits if all new passenger vehicles sold are zero-emission by 2035 and all new trucks and buses sold are zero-emission by 2040.”

The report projects “that the nation’s electric grid will be powered by clean, non-combustion electricity replacing dirty fossil fuels by 2035.”

The ALA report says the transition to zero-emission vehicles in Minnesota “would generate $14.9 billion in public health benefits and prevent 1,350 premature deaths, 36,600 asthma attacks and 171,000 lost workdays for Minnesota residents.”

The ALA is urging immediate action:

“The transportation sector is a leading contributor to air pollution and climate change,” said Jon Hunter, senior director of clean air at the Lung Association. “Thankfully, the technologies and systems are in place to make these benefits a reality, especially in communities most impacted by harmful pollution today. We need Minnesota’s leaders to act to implement equitable policies and invest in the transition to healthy air.”

“Zeroing in on Healthy Air” outlines the broad benefits of the transition to a zero-emission transportation sector over the coming decades.

The report found that nationally, a widespread transition to electric vehicles would generate more than $1.2 trillion in health benefits and $1.7 trillion in additional climate benefits by 2050.

The ALA adds:

Climate change threatens the health of all Americans, from wildfires and extreme storms to worsening air pollution. And poor air quality caused by transportation and electricity generation contributes to a wide range of negative health impacts, including childhood asthma attacks, impaired lung function and development, lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes and premature deaths. These are sources of health disparities in lower-income communities and communities of color, both in terms of exposure to harmful air and the associated health consequences.