Where this was said
The Invisible Killer: Introducing Particulate Matter and Air Pollution
At 6:50 · chapter starts 2:40
With a series of imagined radio announcements — 'the level of particulate matter in the air today is above WHO guidelines' or 'the Supreme Court will delay oral arguments due to high particulate matter in D.C.' — Dubner makes his central thesis visceral: air quality should be as routine a data point as weather or traffic. He introduces particulate matter (PM2.5), tiny particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, invisible to the naked eye, and emitted by everything from dust to fossil fuel combustion. Environmental economist Andrea Linos of Deakin University explains why economists are interested: if pollution impairs cognition and cognition drives productivity, then the true economic costs of dirty air may be far larger than anyone has measured. The stage is set for a detailed scientific investigation into pollution's effects on the human brain.
The World Health Organization estimates that 99% of people around the world sometimes breathe air that exceeds WHO pollution guidelines.
In 1990, 58% of Americans said they had a great deal of concern about air pollution; today that number has fallen to only 40%.
Air pollution kills roughly 7 million people a year — more than double global COVID deaths in 2020, and more than 5 times annual car-crash fatalities. Economist Michael Greenstone says it's worse than cigarette smoking, wars, and auto accidents combined.
