Obama's great work at reducing pollution that is killing Americans.
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Utilities had damaged the economy most through the emission of
sulfur dioxide (SO2), which can harm the lungs directly or combine with ammonia to form particulate matter. The EPA estimates that PM 2.5—the deadliest particulate matter—is responsible for 90 percent of the 100,000 premature deaths caused by air pollution annually in the U.S.
Premature death carries a significant social cost, and Azevedo and her colleagues calculated the reduction in gross external damages from air pollution across the economy. (They did not assess some other forms of economic damage, such as climate damage.)
Damage to the economy from emissions dropped from $1 trillion to $719 billion from 2008 to 2014, Azevedo said.
“This is not trivial. These damages would correspond to something like 6% of GDP in 2008. And they are down to a little bit over 4% in 2014. So the good news is that through 2014, the U.S. economy continues to be on its path to be less pollution-intensive, and with lower consequences.”"
When U.S. Emissions Dropped, Mortality Dropped Dramatically
