OMAHA -- To the tune of $34.3 million, the federal government is underscoring its commitment to reducing lead poisoning among Omaha children.
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A new study blames pollution of all types for 9 million deaths a year globally, with the death toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks and industry rising 55% since 2000.That increase is offset by fewer pollution deaths from primitive indoor stoves and water contaminated with human and animal waste, so overall pollution deaths in 2019 are about the same as 2015.The United States is the only fully industrialized country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths, ranking 7th with 142,883 deaths blamed on pollution in 2019, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Ethiopia, according to a new study in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health. Tuesday's pre-pandemic study is based on calculations derived from the Global Burden of Disease database and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle. India and China lead the world in pollution deaths with nearly 2.4 million and almost 2.2 million deaths a year, but the two nations also have the world's largest populations.When deaths are put on a per population rate, the United States ranks 31st from the bottom at 43.6 pollution deaths per 100,000. Chad and the Central African Republic rank the highest with rates about 300 pollution deaths per 100,000, more than half of them due to tainted water, while Brunei, Qatar and Iceland have the lowest pollution death rates ranging from 15 to 23. The global average is 117 pollution deaths per 100,000 people.Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the study said.SEE MORE: What Makes The U.S. So Invested In Cars?"9 million deaths is a lot of deaths," said Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College."The bad news is that it's not decreasing," Landrigan said. "We're making gains in the easy stuff and we're seeing the more difficult stuff, which is the ambient (outdoor industrial) air pollution and the chemical pollution, still going up."It doesn't have to be this way, researchers said."They are preventable deaths. Each and every one of them is a death that is unnecessary," said Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health, who wasn't part of the study. She said the calculations made sense and if anything was so conservative about what it attributed to pollution, that the real death toll is likely higher.The certificates for these deaths don't say pollution. They list heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, other lung issues and diabetes that are "tightly correlated" with pollution by numerous epidemiological studies, Landrigan said. To then put these together with actual deaths, researchers look at the number of deaths by cause, exposure to pollution weighted for various factors, and then complicated exposure response calculations derived by large epidemiological studies based on thousands of people over decades of study, he said. It's the same way scientists can say cigarettes cause cancer and heart disease deaths."That canon of information constitutes causality," Landrigan said. "That's how we do it."Five outside experts in public health and air pollution, including Goldman, told The Associated Press the study follows mainstream scientific thought. Dr. Renee Salas, an emergency room doctor and Harvard professor who wasn't part of the study, said "the American Heart Association determined over a decade ago that exposure to (tiny pollution particles) like that generated from the burning of fossil fuels is causal for heart disease and death.""While people focus on decreasing their blood pressure and cholesterol, few recognize that the removal of air pollution is an important prescription to improve their heart health," Salas said.Three-quarters of the overall pollution deaths came from air pollution and the overwhelming part of that is "a combination of pollution from stationary sources like coal-fired power plants and steel mills on one hand and mobile sources like cars, trucks and buses. And it's just a big global problem," said Landrigan, a public health physician. "And it's getting worse around the world as countries develop and cities grow."In New Delhi, India, air pollution peaks in the winter months, and last year the city saw just two days when the air wasn't considered polluted. It was the first time in four years that the city experienced a clean air day during the winter months.That air pollution remains the leading cause of death in South Asia reconfirms what is already known, but the increase in these deaths means that toxic emissions from vehicles and energy generation is increasing, said Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi."This data is a reminder of what is going wrong but also
Top Journal Star photos for February 2023
A mostly empty Lincoln Airport terminal is pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, in Lincoln.
Deb Polacek of Friend (center) gets ready to play the accordion to welcome Miloslav Stašek, the U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, as he tours the state during a stop on Wednesday at Nebraska East Union.
Liam Rosengren endures blustery conditions while working out with a portable punching bag outside at Holmes Lake Park on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. A windy day at Holmes Lake did not deter Liam from taking his workout outside on Thursday afternoon. with a cold southerly wind making it feel like it was just over 11°F. "I'm just sort of doing it for the sake of being outside," Rosengren said. "I mean I bought this bag and it's portable, so I can take it anywhere I want.
Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne speaks during a press conference at the Capitol in 2023 about Gov. Jim Pillen's mentoring program for young Nebraskans. TeamMates, a nonprofit founded by Osborne, has received 80% of the money from a state initiative supporting mentorship programs.
Dean Thompsen reacts after correctly spelling the word, 'affluent' correctly after believing he spelled it wrong during the second round of the annual Lincoln Public Schools Oral Spelling Bee on Saturday at Culler Middle School. "I cant believe I just got that right," Thompsen said as he went back to his seat.Â
Bennington assistant coach Jarod Owens (left) and head coach Craig Pokorny celebrate after Kianna Wingender won the 120-pound consolidation semifinal match at the A-3 district meet Saturday at Lincoln Southeast.
Leaves frame the Sower atop the 400 ft tall Nebraska state capitol on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. The statue of the Sower, modeled after the traditional method of hand sowing grain for planting, is a symbol of the importance of Agriculture to Nebraskans. A reprieve from cooler temperatures will arrive for Lincolnites over this weekend. With highs in the upper 40s and mostly sunny weather will greet the day on Saturday and Sunday.
Jaxson Bowman, 1, holds the finger of his dad, Josh Bowman, during a deployment ceremony for the 1-134th Cavalry at the Lancaster Event Center on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. Bowman, along with other soldiers at the ceremony, did not deploy but attended out of support for his fellow soldiers.
Supporters of the Niskithe Prayer Camp block a bulldozer preparing to tear down trees at Wilderness Park on Monday.
Bellevue West's Josiah Dotzler (left) collides with Lincoln Southeast's Wade Voss in the first half Tuesday at Lincoln Southeast High School.
Wayne's Jersi Jensen (center) gets a high-five as she walks up to get her first-place medal at the Class B state bowling singles championship on Wednesday at Sun Valley Lanes.
McCool Junction's Garrett Hansen celebrates during the Class B state bowling singles championship on Wednesday at Sun Valley Lanes.
Julia Kennedy (right) shares a piece of cake with her granddaughter Samara Quwa while manning a FAQ booth about the 16th president Saturday.
Wisconsin's Max Klesmit and Nebraska's Blaise Keita battle on the floor for possession on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Nebraska's Dayne Morton (left) wrestles Rutgers' Tony White in the 149-pound match Sunday at the Devaney Sports Center.
Members of the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry -- Ron Rockenbach (from left), Gage Stermensky, Paul Hadley, David Smith and Keith Rockefeller -- guard the Abraham Lincoln statue on the west side of the Nebraska Capitol on the 214th anniversary of his birthday on Sunday.Â
Lincoln East's Westin Sherlock (top) wrestles Bellevue East's LaBrian Sherlock during the 152-pound final at the A-2 District meet on Saturday at Lincoln East.
Lincoln East's Carter Toomey and Lincoln North Star's William Schafer vie for a rebound under the net in the third quarter on Tuesday at Lincoln East High School.
Aven Larson, 7, throws snow into the air and tries to catch it with her tongue at Pioneers Park during a winter storm in Lincoln on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Shawn Fauver shovels snow outside El Chaparro on F Street on Thursday in Lincoln.
UNL student Paxtyn Dummer (from left) and Maggie Mienhueser complete work on a white board while Miles Kastl and Katelyn Petry do the same on the other side, during a tutoring session at the UNL Reading Center on East Campus. The reading center pairs teachers in training with students from the community who are reading below grade level.Â
Shoun Hill walks through Tower Square on Thursday in downtown Lincoln, where nearly 9 inches of snow fell overnight.
Norfolk's Jackson Bos (front) wrestles Bellevue West's Ryland Schweiss during a Class A 220-pound consolation match Friday at CHI Health Center Omaha on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.
Lincoln Southeast's Bangot Dak dunks the ball against Lincoln North Star in the final minute Friday at North Star High School.
Blood covers the face of Chadron's Kenli Boeselager as she wrestles on the mat against Conestoga's Maggie Fiene during a 145 lb semifinal match on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at CHI Health Center in Omaha.
Lincoln Southeast's Eve Nelson dives during the girls state diving championships Thursday at the Devaney Sports Center.
Swimmers take off from the starting blocks for the 50-yard freestyle during the girls state swimming prelims Friday at the Devaney Sports Center.
Lincoln High's Kiana Wiley (24) holds up the championship plaque after the Links defeated Lincoln Northeast in the A-3 district final Friday at Lincoln High.
Alexander Syniy of Lincoln (right), originally from Kherson in Ukraine, prays during a rally on the anniversary of the war in Ukraine on Saturday at the state Capitol.
