IMMIGRANT OF THE DAY: ANDREA BACCARELLI - SCIENTIST
Italian-born Harvard scientist Andrea Baccarelli made headlines today for heading up a team that has linked air pollution to a higher risk of blood clots. Here's how CBS News describes the discovery:
Air pollution increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) -- dangerous blood clots in the veins -- even at pollution levels the EPA deems "acceptable."
Harvard researcher Andrea Baccarelli, MD, PhD, and colleagues in Italy studied 870 people diagnosed with DVT from 1995 to 2005. They compared their particulate air pollution exposure in the year before their diagnosis to that of 1,210 matched people without DVT.
They found that DVT risk goes up 70% for every 10 microgram-per-cubic-meterrise in particulate air pollution above 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air (the lowest pollution level measured in the study).
More disgraceful conduct from the INS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14visa.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1210739400-Wuwn2OUTDYF7zWA0miY1Dg
Posted by: USC | May 13, 2008 at 09:35 PM
Combustion of fossil fuels is the principal source of fine particle emissions which various sources (EPA, NRDC) say cause tens of thousands of premature deaths every year. This loss of life should be factored into the true cost of a fossil fuel dependent economy. Supposedly expensive renewable energy looks like a better deal when you consider such negative externalities. Unfortunately, there is no safe level of particle emissions:
'Epidemiological studies have reported a linear relationship between exposure and effects. In other words, the higher the concentration of particles, the greater the effect on the health of populations. Effects have been demonstrated at levels well below the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Scientists have not been able to identify a threshold below which health effects do not occur.'
Since this is an immigration blog, what is the tie-in? We need to ask ourselves how can we reduce environmental and societal harms such as this one while at the same time our population continues to grow, in large part due to our current immigration policy. Sure we can carpool more and individually take more steps to conserve energy but that's just half the equation with the other being the total number of people in our country. The fact remains that no matter what measures are taken, adding another 100 million, 200 million, or more people makes all kinds of problems, including this one, harder to deal with.
Posted by: Jack | May 13, 2008 at 05:42 PM
It is a good story. I actually wrote about this physician in a previous immigrant of the day column. A very inspirational tale.
Posted by: Greg Siskind | May 13, 2008 at 12:27 PM
A great immigrant story
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/science/13conv.html?ref=science
Posted by: immi | May 13, 2008 at 12:13 PM