Traffic back-ups such as this one on I-70 in Colorado ski country create air pollution that threatens human health.

What's the true cost of burning fossil fuels to push hundreds of millions of shiny boxes on wheels around?

It's higher than you might think.

New research by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA) at the School of Public Health estimates that the additional fine particulate matter emissions that can be traced back to traffic congestion in the nation's 83 largest urban areas led to more than 2,200 premature deaths in the U.S. last year. The related public health cost, researchers say, was, conservatively, at least $18 billion.

The study, "The Public Health Costs of Traffic Congestion: A Health Risk Assessment," was published in the scientific journal Environmental Health. It is the first to attempt to quantify the public health implications of growing traffic congestion in America.

A metal roof with a solar system installed on it. [Photo Credit: MetalRoofing.Com]

Pretty much everyone knows about CFL bulbs and curbside recycling. What many homeowners don't know is that the roof over their head can make a big difference to the environment.

Many consumers are shocked to learn that traditional asphalt shingles are a petroleum product, with a big environmental impact. Not only do asphalt shingles add to dependency on fossil fuels, they need to be replaced every 15-20 years, and there is no good way to dispose of them – landfills are full of asphalt shingles.

In the U.S., metal roofs are starting to replace petroleum-based asphalt shingles. A recent McGraw-Hill Construction and Analytics® survey showed metal roofing now comprises 11% of the residential re-roofing market, having more than doubled in just 10 years.

A massive boring machine headed for Canada's oil sands creates a jarring juxtaposition between wilderness and humans in Idaho. [Photo Credit: FightingGoliath.Org]

If you don’t think that the gasoline you pump into your gas tank doesn’t have profound effects on people and places far, far away, think again.

Pictures and video make our gasoline consumption’s connection to things in faraway places much more real than words.

So we’ll keep words to a minimum here. But we do need to give you some background:

The truly massive efforts to extract oil from Canada’s oil sands – a process which is exacting tremendous environmental damage on the boreal forests of Canada – requires truly massive pieces of drilling equipment and machinery. Many of these pieces of equipment are traveling truly massive distances, primarily from South Korea to Canada, which is the United States’ number one supplier of foreign oil.

Pollution from heavy highway traffic contributes to a higher risk of heart attack, allergies, premature births, and deaths of newborns. Exposure is especially dangerous among children and teens. [Photo Credit: Jenna Johnson]

Despite significant progress nearly 58 percent of Americans regularly inhale dangerously polluted air and the U.S. transportation sector continues to be the primary offender.

According to the American Lung Association (ALA), ozone and particle pollution are the most widespread and dangerous forms of air pollution, though there are other air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide (SO₂).