this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2025
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Public Health

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Inhalers drive carbon emissions equivalent to 530,000 cars each year, study shows (phys.org)
submitted 6 days ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/publichealth@mander.xyz
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Inhalers are the frontline treatment for asthma and COPD, but they come with a steep environmental cost, according to a new UCLA Health study—the largest to date quantifying inhaler-related emissions in the United States.

Researchers found that inhalers have generated over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually over the past decade, equivalent to the emissions of roughly 530,000 gas-powered cars on the road each year.

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[–] WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Tbf if we weren’t shipping that stuff with one big ship it would be like 2000 planes.

I’m not saying there aren’t ways to improve cargo ships, like trying to build ones that are “greener”, or simply trying to reduce how much stuff we ship overseas.

But that’s the difficult thing in trying to point out “one thing to kill to have the biggest impact”. It’s complicated.

One bus pollutes a lot more than one car, but 100 fewer cars are on the road because of that bus, the bus is “greener” overall.

[–] ZeroGravitas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago

There was that bit about the oil tanker, but you're not wrong in general, sea shipping is one of the most efficient means of transport we got.

How about this: more efficient cars on the road, more WFH, increased use of public transport etc. lead to less demand for oil, which puts that tanker out of business. Win-win?