Premature births? Autism? Depression? Anxiety? Cognitive delays? ADD? Effects on intelligence and decision making?
Folks, this research is chilling. I doubt that anyone has had to make a huge leap to the "pollution is bad for us" conclusion but some of these correlations are quite amazingly frightening. Listen to this:
"...children born to mothers living with 1,000 feet of a major road or freeway in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Sacramento were twice as likely to have autism, independent of gender, ethnicity and education level as well as maternal age, exposure to tobacco smoke or other factors."
Twice as likely??
This, too, I found fascinating:
"In New Jersey, premature births, a risk factor for cognitive delays, in areas around highway toll plazas dropped 10.8% after the introduction of E-ZPass, which eased traffic congestion and reduced exhaust fumes."
Yet another reason to carpool, take the bus, ride your bike, walk more, BE INNOVATIVE AND BUILD RAIL SYSTEMS THAT CONNECT MAJOR CITIES WHICH WILL MOST CERTAINLY PAY OFF IN THE LONG RUN INSTEAD OF GIVING THE FUNDING (AND JOBS!) AWAY (ahem), and perhaps take a full inventory of the pros and cons of where you live. I love where I live but there are some transportation issues I need to rectify. Hmmm....more on this to come.
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