ENE Gets to the Heart of the Matter

Going green doesn’t just help our planet, or just help companies meet carbon footprint goals now being required of a large segment of buyers – going green has also been proven to improve heart health, and even add to your life! That’s according to a study on fine-particulate matter concentrations and life expectancy just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

According to the January 2009 article, residents of cities that do the best job cleaning up air pollution experience the biggest jump in life spans. The study cites Pittsburgh's improvements in air quality as enabling residents to live nearly 10 months longer.

The study noted that exposure to dirty air over long periods -- specifically, the tiny specks known as fine-particulate air pollution -- shortens lives and contributes to cardiovascular and lung disease. It notes that particulate matter is inhaled almost like a gas and is thought to hike blood pressure, heart attack risk, and the chance of heart disease-related death.

"Gas and diesel engines, coal-fired plants …involving burning at high temperatures, produce these particles… the ones that can penetrate deeply into the lungs and cause most of the health problems," explained the study's lead researcher, Arden Pope III, Ph.D., of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Conservation efforts, renewable energy and other green strategies are what’s required to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel-fired plants. And now we know, these strategies are essential to quality of life – and longer life, too.

It all starts with developing a green vision, conducting a good facilities audit, committing to conservation and executing on a renewable energy strategy that lessens dependence on fossil fuels and the grid.

ENE stands ready to help you navigate the energy economy and add some life to your green goals.