click on photo to enlarge
Arden Pope’s students know him as an excellent economics
teacher, but some would be surprised to learn that, thanks to him, the air they
breathe today is cleaner than the first breath they ever took.
In fact, a new study by this BYU professor concludes that
improvements in U.S. air quality since 1990 have sparked a 35 percent reduction
in deaths and disability specifically attributable to air pollution. Pope was a
member of a large research team who co-authored the study for the Journal of
the American Medical Association.
“Some of the best news relative to the air pollution
research over the last few years is the evidence that our reducing air
pollution in the United States has resulted in measurable improvements in life
expectancy and public health,” said Pope.