Friday, April 12, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Spring allergies are indeed making life miserable for many in Las Vegas, as highlighted in the April 2 story “Allergy cases in Las Vegas surge amid spring bloom.”
In addition to unpleasant congestion, allergies can cause fatigue, missed work days and reduced productivity for many sufferers. Pollen can also trigger potentially serious asthma exacerbations. The economic cost of pollen allergies is estimated at $18 billion per year, and asthma costs the U.S. about $80 billion annually in medical expenses and missed work.
These costs are projected to increase due to warming temperatures. Climate change is causing a longer allergy season, higher pollen production and increased ragweed prevalence. Illness and expense from allergies is one of the many hidden costs of climate change, and highlights the need for aggressive and rapid action to reduce climate-harming pollution.
The most effective and durable means to account for the hidden damage of such pollution is an economy-wide price on carbon pollution paired with a carbon dividend to residents. This would force polluters to pay for the costs inflicted on our health.
