“By 2050, researchers expect the number of room air conditioners on Earth to quadruple to 4.5 billion, becoming at least as ubiquitous as cell phones are today.” This meteoric increase signifies the end of air conditioning as we know it, rendering it completely unfeasible and unable to support growing population and climate demands.
- Scientific American, 2021
Children everywhere are already feeling the effects of climate change and air pollution. “exposure to heat waves in-utero linked to increased risk for preterm birth and low birth weight, hyperthermia and death in infants, as well as kidney disease in children…climate-related events have already contributed to more than 50 million children being forced from their homes worldwide…and about 1 billion children are exposed to very high levels of air pollution, which has become strongly linked to increased risks of infant mortality, adverse birth outcomes, respiratory illnesses, developmental disorders and cognition issues.” These numbers will just continue to rise, as diseases and climate disasters continue to increase in event and severity.
- The Hill, 2022
Air pollution takes 2.2 years off average global life expectancy, according to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). These statistics show our grim future – for comparison, these 2.2 years are more the decline in average life expectancy caused by smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism.
- Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, 2022
3.3 million people will die this year alone due to poor air quality and nearly 8 million are estimated to die in 2050.
- Max Planck Institute, 2015
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