Why Should You Go Green?

A growing body of research shows how a living environment can have profound physical and mental health outcomes, especially for minority families and low-income communities (Environmental Health Perspectives (http://www.greencommunitiesonline.org/green/why/toc.html), May 2005 (http://www.greencommunitiesonline.org/green/why/toc.html)). Low-income people and minorities are more likely to live in worse environmental conditions and experience greater rates of disease, limited access to health care and other health disparities. Green development is a holistic approach that provides integrated solutions to housing, health and environmental challenges.

Run-down, Unhealthy Housing
Environmentally attributable childhood diseases, including asthma, lead poisoning and cancer, cost our nation nearly $55 billion annually. More than 2.5 million families live in substandard housing. More than 4 million children in the U.S. have asthma, and it is estimated that more than 40 percent of doctor-diagnosed asthma among U.S. children is due to residential exposures. Asthma prevalence is 40 to 50 percent higher among minority children living in urban areas. Additionally, more than 400,000 children have dangerously high blood lead levels.

Rising Transportation and Energy Costs
Families at the poverty level spend nearly 40 cents of every dollar they earn on transportation. And energy costs for poor families have increased much faster than their incomes in recent years. Low-income families will spend an average of $1,335 on energy this year—nearly 17 percent of their income—compared to 15 percent in 1997. Studies have shown that high energy bills force poor families to spend less for food and other essentials.

Sprawling, Unsustainable Development
The United States, home to only five percent of the world’s population, consumes 25 percent of the world’s energy and generates 25 percent of global warming pollution. In addition, sprawl drives good jobs farther from where many low-income people live and has been linked to increased traffic congestion, increased pollution and deteriorating health.