Global Climate Change Action

1. During winter months, 49 percent of soot and other particle pollution in Sacramento is caused by burning wood in fireplaces and wood stoves.

2. According to the World Health Organization, if you are one of the 18 million residents of Cairo:
- Breathing daily air pollution is like smoking 20 cigarettes a day
- You take in over 20 times the acceptable level of air pollution each day

3. The World Bank reported in 2002 that pollution causes 2.42 billion dollars worth of damage to the Egyptian environment annually - equaling about 5 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product.

4. The risk of cancer from breathing diesel exhaust is about ten times more than ingesting all other toxic air pollutants combined, with diesel emissions contributing to over 70% of the cancer risk from air pollution in the USA. – reported by Environmental Defense

5. The Boston area ranks number 5 in the country for premature deaths due to diesel pollution annually. – reported by the Clean Air Task Force(website hosting)
In the state of Massachusetts alone, diesel emissions are responsible for the following annual statistics:
- 450 premature deaths
- 700 non-fatal heart attacks
- 9,900 asthma attacks
- 13,000 respirator symptoms in children
- 60,000 work loss days

6. According to Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) is rising at an alarming rate. During the 1990s, carbon dioxide emissions increased approximately 1.3% each year. But since 2000, the rate has increased to 3.3% per year, with an estimated annual global CO2 emissions increase of 35% from 1990 to 2006.

7. A recent study from Toronto Public Health estimates over 440 deaths a year in the Canadian city can be directly attributed to traffic emissions.

8. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have:
- Contributed 25% of the total diesel particulate emissions in the Los Angeles Basin.
- Added more NOx emissions to the atmosphere than all of the 6 million cars operating in this area of California.
- Have not complete an environment impact report for infrastructure improvement projects in six years.

9. Emissions from ocean-going ships contribute to approximately 60,000 deaths each year, mostly from heart and lung-related cancers. Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong rank within the world’s top 5 busiest ports, and experience a higher impact from emissions-related health issues.

10. According to the US-EPA, emissions from power plants contribute to over 2,800 lung cancer deaths and 38,200 heart attacks annually in the US.