News: Being kind to the environment can help you live longer

Do you carpool, ride your bike and buy eco-friendly laundry detergent? If you want to live longer, you should. A

freshairwoman

Do you carpool, ride your bike and buy eco-friendly laundry detergent?

If you want to live longer, you should.

A new study, published in the journal Epidemiology, shows that breathing clean air is linked to an increased life expectancy.

The study’s authors measured the levels of particles (allergens, bacteria, mold spores, etc.) in the air in 545 U.S. counties. They also measured the yearly life expectancy for each county, accounting for other factors that effect health’like smoking and socioeconomic status.

‘Reductions in PM2.5 (air particles) were associated with improvements in life expectancy for the period from 2000 to 2007,’ the study’s authors wrote.

What do you think? Will you make more of an effort to be environmentally friendly after reading this study?

-Katharine Watts, Associate Web Editor

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