The American Lung Association on Tuesday released a report that outlines significant health benefits of transitioning to an electric-powered transportation sector. In Alabama, this transition to utilizing electric vehicles could reportedly result in more than $431 million annually in public health benefits.

Entitled “The Road to Clean Air,” the report analyzed a hypothetical transition to electric cars, buses and trucks by 2050.

“The transportation sector is a leading contributor to air pollution and climate change,” stated William Barrett, director of advocacy, clean air for the Lung Association. “We have the technology to transition to cleaner cars, trucks and buses, and by taking that step we can prepare Alabama for the future while also seeing the health and economic benefits forecasted in ‘The Road to Clean Air.’ Especially as our state faces the impacts of climate change such as extreme storms, this is a powerful and practical opportunity to take action to improve our economy, our health and our future.”

Some of the broad annual benefits for Alabama outlined in the report are as follows:

Avoiding approximately 38 premature deaths
Preventing more than 527 asthma attacks
Preventing 2,271 lost workdays per year
$431,124,811 in public health benefits

Read a summary sheet on the report here.

The association is encouraging all Alabama residents to sign a petition to Governor Kay Ivey urging support for transitioning to electric vehicles in the Yellowhammer State.

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Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn