Researchers say greenhouse gas emissions from the healthcare sector grew 30% over the past decade, and accounted for 9.8% of the national total in 2013.
If the U.S. healthcare system were a country, it would rank 13th in the world for GHG emissions, according to a study published recently in PLOS ONE, one place behind the United Kingdom. The studied included previously unreported environmental and public health impacts of the nation’s healthcare sector.
The researchers’ economic model was based on federal data to calculate total emissions of different pollutants produced by the healthcare sector over 10 years. They analyzed direct emissions from hospitals and clinician’s offices, as well as indirect emissions generated by the suppliers of energy, goods, and services.
The research team also reported significant national percentages of other environmental impacts from the healthcare sector, including acidification (12%), smog formation (10%), and respiratory disease from particulate matter (9%).
Related Stories
| May 23, 2012
Summit Design+Build selected as GC for Chicago restaurant
Little Goat will truly be a multifunctional space. Construction plans include stripping the 10,000 sq. ft. building down to the bare structure everywhere, the installation of a new custom elevator and adding square footage at the second floor with an addition.
| May 21, 2012
Wayne, Pa.'s Radnor Middle School wins national green award
Radnor Middle School among the most sustainable schools in the U.S.
| May 16, 2012
AEG releases 3D video of L.A.'s Farmers Field
The Los Angeles Convention Center footage depicts the new convention center hall spaces, including a new lobby above Pico Boulevard, pre-function space, and what will be the largest multi-purpose ballroom in Los Angeles.
| May 15, 2012
Suffolk selected for Rosenwald Elementary modernization project
The 314-student station elementary school will undergo extensive modernization.
| May 11, 2012
Chapter 10 Action Plan: 18 Recommendations for Advancing Sustainability in Reconstructed Buildings
We offer the following recommendations in the hope that they will help step up the pace of high-performance building reconstruction in the U.S. and Canada. We consulted many experts for advice, but these recommendations are solely the responsibility of the editors of Building Design+Construction. We welcome your comments. Please send them to Robert Cassidy, Editorial Director: rcassidy@sgcmail.com.
| May 9, 2012
International green building speaker to keynote Australia’s largest building systems trade show
Green building, sustainability consultant, green building book author Jerry Yudelson will be the keynote speaker at the Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Building Systems (ARBS) conference in Melbourne, Australia.
| May 9, 2012
Stoddert Elementary School in DC wins first US DOE Green Ribbon School Award
Sustainable materials, operational efficiency, and student engagement create high-performance, healthy environment for life-long learning.
| May 8, 2012
Gensler & J.C. Anderson team for pro bono high school project in Chicago
City Year representatives came to Gensler for their assistance in the transformation of the organization’s offices within Orr Academy High School, which also serve as an academic and social gathering space for students and corps members.
| May 8, 2012
Morgan/Harbour completes three projects at Columbia Centre
Projects completed on behalf of property owner, White Oak Realty Partners, LLC, Pearlmark Realty Partners, LLC and Angelo Gordon & Co.
| May 7, 2012
Best AEC Firms: MHTN Architects nine decades of dedication to Utah
This 65-person design firm has served Salt Lake City and the state of Utah for the better part of 90 years.
