Buildings consume nearly 40% of primary energy production globally. Certified green buildings substantially reduce energy consumption on a per square foot basis and they also focus on indoor ...environmental quality. However, the co-benefits to health through reductions in energy and concomitant reductions in air pollution have not been examined.We calculated year by year LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification rates in six countries (the United States, China, India, Brazil, Germany, and Turkey) and then used data from the Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG) to estimate energy savings in each country each year. Of the green building rating schemes, LEED accounts for 32% of green-certified floor space and publically reports energy efficiency data. We employed Harvard's Co-BE Calculator to determine pollutant emissions reductions by country accounting for transient energy mixes and baseline energy use intensities. Co-BE applies the social cost of carbon and the social cost of atmospheric release to translate these reductions into health benefits. Based on modeled energy use, LEED-certified buildings saved $7.5B in energy costs and averted 33MT of CO
, 51 kt of SO
, 38 kt of NO
, and 10 kt of PM
from entering the atmosphere, which amounts to $5.8B (lower limit = $2.3B, upper limit = $9.1B) in climate and health co-benefits from 2000 to 2016 in the six countries investigated. The U.S. health benefits derive from avoiding an estimated 172-405 premature deaths, 171 hospital admissions, 11,000 asthma exacerbations, 54,000 respiratory symptoms, 21,000 lost days of work, and 16,000 lost days of school. Because the climate and health benefits are nearly equivalent to the energy savings for green buildings in the United States, and up to 10 times higher in developing countries, they provide an important and previously unquantified societal value. Future analyses should consider these co-benefits when weighing policy decisions around energy-efficient buildings.
The scientific literature through 2005 on the effects of ventilation rates on health in indoor environments has been reviewed by a multidisciplinary group. The group judged 27 papers published in ...peer‐reviewed scientific journals as providing sufficient information on both ventilation rates and health effects to inform the relationship. Consistency was found across multiple investigations and different epidemiologic designs for different populations. Multiple health endpoints show similar relationships with ventilation rate. There is biological plausibility for an association of health outcomes with ventilation rates, although the literature does not provide clear evidence on particular agent(s) for the effects. Higher ventilation rates in offices, up to about 25 l/s per person, are associated with reduced prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms. The limited available data suggest that inflammation, respiratory infections, asthma symptoms and short‐term sick leave increase with lower ventilation rates. Home ventilation rates above 0.5 air changes per hour (h−1) have been associated with a reduced risk of allergic manifestations among children in a Nordic climate. The need remains for more studies of the relationship between ventilation rates and health, especially in diverse climates, in locations with polluted outdoor air and in buildings other than offices.
Practical Implications
Ventilation with outdoor air plays an important role influencing human exposures to indoor pollutants. This review and assessment indicates that increasing ventilation rates above currently adopted standards and guidelines should result in reduced prevalence of negative health outcomes. Building operators and designers should avoid low ventilation rates unless alternative effective measures, such as source control or air cleaning, are employed to limit indoor pollutant levels.
Background
Previous epidemiologic studies have considered the effects of individual air pollutants on birth outcomes, whereas a multiple-pollutant approach is more relevant to public health policy.
...Objectives
The present study compared the observed effect sizes of prenatal fine particulate matter (PM
2.5
) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (a component of PM
2.5
) exposures on birth outcome deficits, assessed by the single vs. two-pollutant approaches.
Methods
The study sample included 455 term infants born in Krakow to non-smoking mothers, among whom personal exposures to PM
2.5
and PAH were monitored in the second trimester of pregnancy. The exposure effect estimates (unstandardized and standardized regression coefficients) on birth outcomes were determined using multivariable linear regression models, accounting for relevant covariates.
Results
In the single-pollutant approach, each pollutant was inversely associated with all birth outcomes. The effect size of prenatal PAH exposure on birth weight and length was twice that of PM
2.5,
in terms of standardized coefficients. In the two-pollutant approach, the negative effect of PM
2.5
on birth weight and length, adjusted for PAH exposure, lost its significance. The standardized effect of PAH on birth weight was 10-fold stronger (
β
= −0.20,
p
= 0.004) than that estimated for PM
2.5
(
β
= −0.02,
p
= 0.757).
Conclusion
The results provide evidence that PAH had a greater impact on several measures of fetal development, especially birth weight, than PM
2.5
. Though in the single-pollutant models PM
2.5
had a significant impact on birth outcomes, this effect appears to be mediated by PAH.
Scientifically assess impacts of sustainable investments Vörösmarty, C J; Osuna, V Rodríguez; Koehler, D A ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
02/2018, Letnik:
359, Številka:
6375
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Metrics can inform investors wary of “green washing”
The practice of selecting and managing financial assets based on their social and environmental performance is undergoing rapid growth and ...fundamental change. Investors are increasingly pressed by asset owners to prove how one company's practices are materially more or less sustainable than those of another. Yet, the basic information that companies declare is hardly standardized and is difficult to verify, with unreliable assertions (
1
) that are widely criticized as “green washing.” Metrics are mainly restricted to documenting changes to internal business practices but offer limited guidance on whether a company's actions, products, and services promote human well-being or preserve environmental integrity in the external, real-world domain, fueling reluctance on the part of otherwise enthusiastic investors (
2
,
3
). It is here where science can play an important role. Our consortium of an asset owner, an asset manager, and two research universities is designing a next generation of traceable indicators to quantify external context and impact of investments and place these into a decision-making framework useful to investors. Tests of these science-based sustainability metrics are under way on a $2.1 billion portfolio of public equities invested on behalf of a large European pension fund.
Civilizational challenges have questioned the status quo of energy and material consumption by humans. From the built environment perspective, a response to these challenges was the creation of green ...buildings. Although the revolutionary capacity of the green building movement has elevated the expectations of new commercial construction, its rate of implementation has secluded the majority of the population from its benefits. Beyond reductions in energy usage and increases in market value, the main strength of green buildings may be the procurement of healthier building environments. Further pursuing the right to healthy indoor environments could help the green building movement to attain its full potential as a transformational public health tool. On the basis of 40 years of research on indoor environmental quality, we present a summary of nine environment elements that are foundational to human health. We posit the role of green buildings as a critical research platform within a novel sustainability framework based on social-environmental capital assets.
Current methods for estimating heat vulnerability of young athletes use a heat index (HI) or a wet bulb globe thermometer (WBGT), neither of which fully include the environmental or physiological ...characteristics that can affect a person’s heat budget, particularly where activity occurs on a synthetic surface. This study analyzed and compared the standard methods, HI and WBGT, with a novel and more comprehensive method termed COMFA-Kid (CK) which is based on an energy budget model explicitly designed for youth. The COMFA model was presented at the same time to demonstrate the difference between a child and an adult during activity. Micrometeorological measurements were taken at a synthetic-surfaced football field during mid-day in hot environmental conditions. Standard methods (HI and WBGT) indicated that conditions on the field were relatively safe for youth to engage in activities related to football practice or games, whereas the CK method indicated that conditions were dangerously hot and could lead to exertional heat illness. Estimates using the CK method also indicated that coaches and staff standing on the sidelines, and parents sitting in the stands, would not only be safe from heat but would be thermally comfortable. The difference in thermal comfort experienced by coaches and staff off the field, versus that experienced by young players on the field, could affect decision making regarding the duration and intensity of practices and time in the game. The CK method, which is easy to use and available for modification for specific conditions, would lead to more accurate estimates of heat safety on outdoor synthetic surfaces in particular, and in sports with a high prevalence of heat illness such as football, and should be considered as a complementary or alternative preventive measure against heat.
Alcoholic Hepatitis: Current Management Spengler, Erin K. J.; Dunkelberg, Jeffrey; Schey, Ron
Digestive diseases and sciences,
10/2014, Letnik:
59, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Alcoholic hepatitis is an acute manifestation of alcoholic liver disease with mortality as high as 40–50 % in severe cases. Patients usually have a history of prolonged alcohol abuse with or without ...a known history of liver disease. Although there is significant range in severity at presentation, patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis typically present with anorexia, fatigue, fever, jaundice, and ascites. The use of either pentoxifylline or corticosteroids in those with severe disease (Maddrey’s discriminate function >32) has significant mortality benefit. The addition of
N
-acetylcysteine to corticosteroids decreases the incidences of hepatorenal syndrome, infection, and short-term mortality, but does not appear to significantly affect 6-month mortality. Nutritional support with high-calorie, high-protein diet is recommended in all patients screening positive for malnutrition. Liver transplantation for a highly selected group of patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis may be an option in the future, but is not currently recommended or available at most transplant institutions.
Objective:An analysis of airborne nicotine measurements collected in 49 low-income, multi-unit residences across the Greater Boston Area.Methods:Nicotine concentrations were determined using passive ...monitors placed in homes over a one-week sampling period and air exchange rates (AER) were sampled using the perfluorocarbon tracer technique. Residents were surveyed through a questionnaire about smoking behaviour and a visual inspection was conducted to collect information on housing characteristics contributing to secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. Using a mass balance model to account for the air exchange rate, volume of the home and sorption and re-emission of nicotine on indoor surfaces, the effective smoking rate (SReff) was determined for each residence.Results:Nicotine levels ranged from the limit of detection to 26.92 μg/m3, with a mean of 2.20 μg/m3 and median of 0.13 μg/m3. Nicotine measurements were significantly associated with the number of smokers in the household and the number of cigarettes smoked in the home. The results of this study suggest that questionnaire reports can provide a valid estimate of residential exposure to tobacco smoke. In addition, this study found evidence that tobacco smoke contamination in low-income housing developments is not limited to homes with smokers (either residing in the home or visiting). The frequent report of tobacco smoke odour coming from other apartments or hallways resulted in increased levels of nicotine concentrations and SReff in non-smoking homes, suggestive of SHS infiltration from neighbouring units.Conclusion:These findings have important implications for smoking regulations in multi-unit homes and highlight the need to reduce involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke among low-income housing residents.
Objective:
The purpose of this review is to uncover some best practices for increasing access to physical activity opportunities by examining efforts used within low income and diverse communities. ...The theoretical lens used is from the Active Living by Design (ALbD) Community Action Model, with a focus on the 6 essential practices (health equity focus, community engagement, facilitative leadership, sustainable thinking, culture of learning, and strategic communication) describing how partnerships can guide and sustain meaningful change in a community.
Methods:
A 2-step process guided the literature search. In step 1, 4 databases (PubMed, Psych INFO, Social Science Citation Index, and Cochrane Library) were searched using Boolean connections and variations in the key terms. Step 2 assessed articles by title, abstract, and full text to determine whether the studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Additionally, included articles were compared against the 6 essential practices outlined by the ecological framework, ALbD.
Results:
Of 1775 total articles, 14 studies met inclusion criteria. Most of the studies were case studies located in the United States using several different approaches including, changes in the built environment, implementation of a community-based physical activity program, creating partnerships to leverage resources, and policy change. This review compared the 14 studies against the 6 essential practices of the ALbD model and found 2 studies that met all 6 criteria, and only a few studies meeting more than 2 criteria.
Conclusions:
Overall, the conclusions are 2-fold, (1) only 14 cases demonstrate success in increasing access to physical activity opportunities, suggesting that more can be done to address inequalities. (2) Of the existing efforts, few utilize crucial components to create a sustainable change in the community. Future research should take into consideration the ALbD ecological framework, the best existing theory for this type of work, to guide the creation and implementation of a sustainable community access effort.
The risk of tobacco smoking and second‐hand smoke (SHS) exposure combined are the leading contributors to disease burden in high‐income countries. Recent studies and policies are focusing on reducing ...exposure to SHS in multiunit housing (MUH), especially public housing. We examined seasonal patterns of SHS levels within indoor common areas located on Boston Housing Authority (BHA) properties. We measured weekly integrated and continuous fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and passive airborne nicotine in six buildings of varying building and occupant characteristics in summer 2012 and winter 2013. The average weekly indoor PM2.5 concentration across all six developments was 9.2 μg/m3, higher during winter monitoring period (10.3 μg/m3) compared with summer (8.0 μg/m3). Airborne nicotine concentrations ranged from no detection to about 5000 ng/m3 (mean 311 ng/m3). Nicotine levels were significantly higher in the winter compared with summer (620 vs. 85 ng/m3; 95% CI: 72–998). Smoking‐related exposures within Boston public housing vary by season, building types, and resident smoking policy. Our results represent exposure disparities that may contribute to health disparities in low‐income communities and highlight the potential importance of efforts to mitigate SHS exposures during winter when outdoor–indoor exchange rates are low and smokers may tend to stay indoors. Our findings support the use of smoke‐free policy as an effective tool to eliminate SHS exposure and protect non‐smokers, especially residents of MUH.
PDF
