Our Broken Environment Kills a Quarter of Us
Pollution and other hazards caused 12.6 million deaths worldwide in 2012, the WHO says.
This article is for subscribers only.
The lead in the water in Flint, Mich., is a devastating reminder of how closely human health is intertwined with the environment. While the Flint crisis may be an egregious example of cruelty and neglect, the damaging consequences of a broken environment are all around us, a new tally by the World Health Organization shows.
Nearly a quarter of all deaths worldwide are caused by environmental risks like polluted air, dirty water, hazardous workplaces, and dangerous roads, according to the WHO report. The global health authority estimates that 12.6 million deaths in 2012, or about 23 percent of the total, were attributable to such factors.