CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - As part of the nation deals with pollution from Canadian wildfires, the Chicago-based American Lung Association is also focused on another kind of air pollution, saying Illinois has an incentive to do something about that.
It's pollution from cars and their internal combustion engines.
A new report by the American Lung Association called "Driving to Clean Air" focused on the benefits of moving toward electric vehicles.
Kristina Hamilton, Illinois advocacy director for the American Lung Association, said for Illinois, there would be more than $49 billion in health benefits by 2050.
"We would have 4,490 fewer premature deaths, 113,000 fewer asthma attacks and over 500,000 fewer lost workdays," Hamilton said.
She said Illinois has done a lot but could do more to speed the transition to electric vehicles.
"This report is focusing on sales, future sales of cars…We're not talking about taking away anyone's gas-powered vehicles - today. We are talking about transitioning over 30 years to have more zero-emission vehicles on the road."
The American Lung Association is lobbying Illinois officials to join other states to enact zero-emission technology standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
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