Take Part - A new MIT study ... finds that the health savings from slashing greenhouse gas pollution will exceed most, if not at all, the cost of building a low-carbon economy in the U.S.
"We estimate that human health benefits associated with air quality improvements offset 26–1,050 percent of costs depending on the flexibility of the carbon policy," wrote the researchers in the study, which was published in the journalNature Climate Change.
That's because the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions that are warming the planet—coal-fired power plants, cars and trucks—also spew particulate matter, mercury and other pollutants that harm human health.
The researchers found that not all policies would result in the same savings. For instance, the health benefits from directly regulating vehicle emissions by imposing strict fuel economy standards would only pay 26 percent of the cost of the $1 trillion policy.
But the health savings of a nationwide cap-and-trade carbon market would be 10 times the $14 billion cost to implement such a program. Establishing clean energy standards for power plants would save $247 billion versus the policy's $208 billion cost, according to the study
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http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/08/25/how-cut-carbon-emissions-free
