There are 6.5 billion reasons to be disappointed by President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. Like the $6.5 billion in estimated U.S. health care costs from worsening air pollution that we are all paying for through higher insurance premiums and higher taxes.
If you have not made the connection between the current Washington, D.C., battles over health care on the one hand and the Paris Agreement on the other, you’re not alone. Though they are inextricably linked, the connection is often overlooked. The biggest impact of climate change will be on our health. Think of climate change as one big pre-existing condition that we will all have.