Edmonton’s air quality is worse than Toronto’s with just one-fifth the population, and coal-fired electricity generation is to blame, Calgary emergency physician Dr. Joe Vipond of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment will tell a workshop this Friday hosted by the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association.
Coal power costs Alberta $300 million in annual health costs and causes nearly 100 premature deaths, 700 emergency room visits, 80 hospital admissions, and untold asthma attacks, CanGEA states on its website.
Vipond’s research “demonstrates the social harm associated with Alberta’s energy generation policies, and how we can move towards ensuring a more sustainable pathway for future generations,” CanGEA adds.
