the WHO estimated thatclimate change contributed to > 150,000deaths and 5.5 million lost DALYs in2000 alone

Despite these limitations, the avail-able data indicate great economic benefits fromcoordinated reduction of pollution from fossilfuel combustion.

Early adversityand toxic stress are linked to later impair-ments in learning, behavior, and physicaland mental well-being

here isconsiderable empirical evidence that early-childhood exposure to pollution affects notonly health but also educational attainmentand test scores

growth anddevelopmental delays in utero associatedwith environmental exposures increase therisk for neurodevelopmental, respiratory,and other health problems in infancy andchildhood, as well as heart disease, chronicobstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetesin adulthood

Toxic air pollutants and climate changecan affect health and functioning over thelife course by launching a trajectory ofadverse effects related to the initial physicalor developmental impairment, and/or by“seeding” latent disease that becomes evidentonly in later life.

both air pollution and climatechange contribute to social and political insta-bility. Children’s mental and physical healthis adversely affected by forced migrationand population displacement, perpetuatingpoverty and civil unrest in low-income anddeveloping countries.

leading to more allergic disease andasthma in children

Higher temperatures and greater CO 2concentrations also promote the growth ofaeroallergens

in addition toincreased mortality and asthma exacerbation,O 3 is associated with decreased lung growthand lung function, as well as other respiratoryproblems in children

Climatechange is predicted to elevate O3 levels overlarge areas in the United States and Europe,especially in the summer

Directeffects of heat waves on children includehyperthermia, heat stress, renal disease, andrespiratory illness

A well-recognized direct effect of climatechange is an increase in the frequency ofdeadly heat waves

Exposure to air pollutants is associated withlow or reduced birth weight, small size forgestational age

he emissions from the burning of fossilfuels include directly emitted fine particulatematter (PM), black carbon, polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury, nitrogendioxide (NO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), andcarbon monoxide (CO), all of which have beenassociated with multiple health impacts.

Fossil fuel combustion (coal, diesel fuel,gasoline, oil, and natural gas) for electricityproduction, heating, transportation, andindustry is the main source of air pollution

Low-income populationsare also most affected by climate change

Air pollution and climate change dispro-portionally affect children in low incomepopulations, both in the United States andglobally

fossil fuel combustion inflicts amultitude of serious health and developmentalharms in children through its emissions oftoxic particles and gases and carbon dioxide(CO 2 ),

The psychological and emotional impactsof climate change include the acute or trau-matic effects of extreme weather events and achanged environment; threats to emotionalwell-being based on direct experience orconcern about future risks;

rowning is a major cause of fatalityin children in developing countries.

Although no single extreme weather event,such as floods, droughts, bushfires, or hurri-canes and cyclones, can be attributed entirelyto climate change

Malnutrition and infectious disease representthe largest share of the burden of childhoodmorbidity and mortality attributed to climatechange

The largest source of climate-altering green-house gas emissions (GHG) from humanactivities in the United States and globally iscombustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas,gasoline, and diesel) for energy, electricity,heat, and transportation.

prenatal exposure to PAHswas associated with developmental delay,reduced IQ, symptoms of anxiety, depression,and inattention (Perera et al. 2012), ADHD(Perera et al. 2014a), and reductions in brainwhite matter surface in children

air pollutantshave been linked to an array of neurodevel-opmental disorders in children

Data are more limited for neurodevelop-mental effects than for birth outcomes andrespiratory illness.

In many studies, exposure to air pollutants,including PM 2.5 , O 3 , and NO 2 , in child-hood has been clearly linked to reduced lungfunction.

Thebest studied pollutants include deeply respi-rable particles having an aerodynamic diameterof ≤ 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), PAHs, which are aclass of hazardous air pollutants that includesknown carcinogens and neurotoxicants, andO3, a strong respiratory irritant.

ow-income communi-ties and communities of color in the UnitedStates have disproportionately high exposure toparticulate air pollution and air pollution fromcoal-fired power plants

he developing fetus and young child aremore biologically and psychologically vulner-able than adults to the many adverse effectsof toxic air pollutants and physical trauma,psychosocial stress, nutritional deprivation,infectious agents, and heat waves associatedwith climate change from fossil fuel combus-tion.

The developing fetus and young child, andespecially the poor, are most vulnerable tothe impacts of both toxic air pollutants andclimate change

a co-pollutant that is a major driverof climate change.

We focus on estimates 5–10 years out for at least two reasons.

Bakken oil shale formation in North Dakota

Marcellus natural gas shale formation in Pennsylvania

the ultimateresources of planet Earth are both highly uncertain and very large.

Second, while longer-term costsestimates might exist

First,many analysts believe that it is important to reduce CO 2 emissions in the next decadeto mitigate the odds of disruptive climate change.

hese forecasts report a projected levelized cost of energyfor coal, natural gas, nuclear, and wind for electricity generation plants to be built5–10 years in the future

We report forecasts of the levelized cost of electricity generation publishedby the US Energy Information Administration during the last two decades.

In contrast, fossil fuel technologieslike natural gas and coal require ongoing fuel costs

We compare costs using levelized cost of energy estimates across different technol-ogies.

the rate of new nuclear power plant constructionhas significantly slowed down since the 1980s, and its share of power generationin most countries has actually fallen over the last decade due to decreasing costcompetitiveness

Solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, and nuclear fission power plants are thecurrent leading candidates to replace coal and natural gas in electricity genera-tion.

If the past 35 years is any guide, not only should we not expect to run out offossil fuels any time soon, we should not expect to have less fossil fuels in the futurethan we do now.

Second, even in the absence of truth-tellingregulation in reserve estimates

reserve estimates published by publicly traded oil and gas companie

irst, securities regulators in developed countries heavily regulate

The average growth rate in reserves is2.7 percent for both oil and natural gas. In only one year did total proven oil reservesfall, and this year was immediately followed by a growth in reserves of 12.2 percentthe following year.

there are at least two reasons to believe thatthese data are informative about the scale of fossil fuel resources readily availablein the future.

There have been few policy responses to limit fossil fuel consumption indeveloping countries, even though many of them are experiencing very high andimmediate costs from conventional air pollutants.

The other option for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is toreduce future consumption of fossil fuels in a drastic manner

One is to find ways to capture carbon from the air andstore it.

These two technological advances are at least partially responsible for a moregeneral long-term pattern of worldwide reserve growth.

there is a finite amount of anyone fossil fuel.

we could use up all the proven reserves of oilin the entire world by the end of the next decade.”

Hydroelectric, solar, wind, and nuclear are obvioussubstitutes for fossil fuels in electric power generation

we investigate the prospects for low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels

To reduce carbon dioxide emissions by enough to miti-gate the chance of disruptive climate change in a substantial way, there would seem tobe only two possible options.

By the mid-1990s, concerns about the role of fossil fuels in generating emis-sions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases gained traction.

TheClean Air Act Amendments of 1990 created frameworks to reduce sulfur dioxideand nitrogen oxide from power plant emissions, as well as from the combustionof gasoline and diesel fuels in vehicles.

ossil fuels provide substantial economic benefits, but in recent decades, aseries of concerns have arisen about their environmental costs