Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Public Health

MIT Study: Vehicle Emissions Cause 58,000 Premature Deaths Yearly in U.S.

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 22, 2013 | No Comments

Just when you thought it was safe to breathe, a pair of studies underscore the grave threat that air pollution poses to public health. According to new research from MIT, in 2005 air pollution accounted for a staggering 200,000 premature deaths in the United States, more than 58,000 of which can be attributed to vehicle emissions. Air […]

STREETSBLOG USA

Heart Disease, Traffic Jams and ADHD Share One Simple Solution: Drive Less

By Elly Blue | Oct 18, 2013 | No Comments

This is an excerpt from “Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save the Economy,” by Elly Blue (Microcosm Publishing, December 1, 2013, bikenomics.com). See our interview with Elly from spring 2013. Car exhaust is no laughing matter. Nearly half of residents in major urban areas in North America live close enough to highways and other large roads […]

STREETSBLOG USA

Pediatric Org’s Bicycle Recommendations Explained, in Terrifying Detail

By Tanya Snyder | Oct 15, 2013 | No Comments

There’s nothing quite like listening to a preeminent expert in pediatric injury prevention telling you you’re taking unnecessary risks with your child’s life. That more or less sums up my conversation yesterday with Dr. Phyllis Agran, who has authored and consulted on many American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policies relating to childhood injury and trauma […]

STREETSBLOG USA

Study: Kids Who Live in Walkable Neighborhoods Get More Exercise

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 11, 2013 | No Comments

A study published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Health finds that children who live in walkable places — “smart growth neighborhoods,” to use the authors’ phrase — get significantly more exercise than their peers who live in suburban environments designed for driving. Researchers from UC Berkeley monitored the activity of 59 children […]

STREETSBLOG USA

What Should the Surgeon General Say to Get More People Walking?

By Tanya Snyder | Apr 2, 2013 | No Comments

What if cars came with a Surgeon General’s warning like the ones that come on cigarette packs: “Sitting in this seat could lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, and divorce.” Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is getting ready to go halfway there. She announced in December that she’d be issuing a call to action on […]

STREETSBLOG USA

Study: Car Commuters Put on More Weight Than Active Commuters

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 20, 2013 | No Comments

Going to the gym may not be enough to keep off the pounds if you drive to work. That’s the result of a study published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. According to an Australian research team, active commuting is an effective defense against gaining weight. Among a sample of 822 Australian adults […]

Show More Stories