How Urban Trees Can Save Lives

Planting Healthy Air report quantifies health benefits of trees for 245 cities globally

Heatwaves are one of the world's most underestimated threats, killing more than 12,000 people every year around the world—more than any other weather-related event. And heat is especially dangerous in cities, which tend to be much warmer than surrounding less-developed areas. On top of that, cities tend to have higher levels of air pollution, which contribute to more than 3 million deaths every year. With 70 percent of the world’s population predicted to live in cities by 2050, heat and air pollution constitute a major public health concern.

One relatively simple solution to this problem? Plant more trees in cities. Trees cool the air by casting shade and releasing water vapor, and their leaves can filter out fine particulate matter (PM)—one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution, generated from burning biomass and fossil fuels. The Nature Conservancy has studied the effects of trees on air quality in 245 of the world’s largest cities and documented the findings in the Planting Healthy Air report.

Key Takeaways of the Report

The Planting Healthy Air report documents which cities stand to benefit most from tree plantings, in terms of both heat and PM reduction, and how much investment would be required to achieve meaningful benefits.

Editor's Note: Scroll through the interactive map at the bottom of the page to see which neighborhoods within each of the cities from the study have the highest return on investment for heat and PM reduction.

Source: https://global.nature.org/content/healthyair?intc=nature.hp.news3

Mesothelioma in Europe

(article by Rachel Jones )

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that involves tumors infecting the lining of the organs in the abdomen and lungs of the body. As a result of asbestos exposure, Europe along with a number of other countries has been hit hard by cases of this disease. This is primarily because of asbestos use throughout the 20th century. This asbestos exposure involves inhalation and often the fibers will become lodged into the lungs, damaging cells and causing infection regularly.

This disease is especially dangerous because of its long latency period. Often, decades will pass between the original asbestos exposure and the onslaught of symptoms, sometimes even lasting half a century. Following this latency period, some of the common symptoms are often confused with elderly age and regular health problems. Coughing, shortness of breath, weight loss, and fatigue are all regular examples of mesothelioma symptoms. The earlier the diagnosis, the better, considering that mesothelioma life expectancy is usually severe. The average life expectancy following a diagnosis is between eight and 14 months.

Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

Currently no cure for mesothelioma exists and the American Cancer Society explains that patients generally have a short average life expectancy of four to 18 months after diagnosis. Only 10% of mesothelioma patients survive more than five years after initial diagnosis. Since its recognition as a lethal form of cancer that develops after asbestos exposure, doctors and scientists have struggled to identify a course of treatment that can improve the prognosis for patients today.

Nevertheless, efforts today still generally focus on prolonging the overall quality of life and life expectancy of these patients instead of finding a cure. Among these treatments are experimental and alternative therapies meant to relieve symptoms and improve a patient’s ability to lead a normal life.

Factors that Affect Life Expectancy

Malignant mesothelioma, like other cancers, is described in four stages. Early detection has proven significant in leading to prolonged life expectancy.