eMERGE Guelph Discusses Public Health Benefits of Electrifying Vehicles In Letter To The Editor This Week

A recent letter to the editor in this week's GuelphToday sheds light on the social and environmental advantages of switching to electric vehicles. The letter is related to a research project that the Research Shop is currently working on in collaboration with eMERGE Guelph. Within the letter, the authors report that every switch to an electric vehicle from a gas-powered car generates approximately $10,000 in social benefits, and helps to protect marginalized groups who experience the highest level of health inequities in the region. The letter builds on a report conducted by the University of Toronto, the Ontario Public Health Association, and Environmental Defence. The report, titled Clearing the Air, illustrates how electric vehicles could be a pathway to cleaner air, improved public health, and reduced climate change impacts in the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area (GTHA). 

The article was co-written by Helen Doyle, Chair of the Ontario Public Health Association’s Environmental Health Work Group, Laura Minet, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto, Evan Ferrari, Executive Director of eMERGE Guelph, and Brianna Wilson, Research Shop Assistant and Ph.D. student at the University of Guelph. This collaboration reflects the authors' engagement in ongoing conversations and research surrounding the environment and public health; the collaboration between the Research Shop and eMERGE is an example of an active collaboration between community and campus stakeholders to build awareness of and coordinate action to combat climate change and the social impacts of environmental degradation.

Read the full article in GuelphToday.