Shutting down coal can do us a lot of good. The Ontario Medical Association (OMA), for example, estimates there were 5,800 premature deaths due to air pollution in Ontario alone in 2005 (the Government of Ontario says more than 650 of these can be attributed to air pollution from coal plants). In addition, the OMA estimates there were 16,000 hospital admissions and 60,000 emergency room visits in Ontario in 2005 because of air pollution exposures, primarily associated with respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. Asthma now affects over 2.7 million Canadians, including one in eight children. In Canada, rates of childhood asthma have risen dramatically. From 1978 to 1999, the percentage of children with asthma increased five-fold to its current level of greater than 12 per cent. By eliminating the province’s largest source of smog builders like nitrogen oxides, and a huge source of particulate matter, which irritates lungs and can carry toxins into the bloodstream, we will all breathe a little easier. By also helping to curb climate change, a coal phase out will also lessen the threat of extreme heat events that increase air pollution and can even kill.