Electricity

The use of electricity by civilized society has produced a plethora of benefits for human health. With the advent of electric lighting replacing gas and oil lamps, indoor air quality has improved. Where electricity has replaced locally burned fuels, local environmental quality improves; however, it is important to consider the health impacts of different methods of electricity production. Electricity as an energy vector produces no emissions at the point of use and is relatively easy to transport. Historically, in many cases electricity has been substituted for consuming local fuels—which, when burned to produce energy, resulted in local pollution and environmental degradation.

Use of electricity as an energy vector is expected to increase as part of global efforts to decarbonize our society; however, while substituting electrically based ...