Sun and Warmth Save Lives

Inadequate exposure to the sun kills at least 50,000 to 60,000 people per year in the United States alone, university researchers say.

We’ve all been told by dermatologists to stay out of the sun to avoid skin cancer. But by depriving ourselves of sun, many of us are actually increasing our cancer risk, since sunlight protects against the most deadly forms of cancer, even as it increases the risk of a less deadly cancer, skin cancer, which does not kill most of its victims.

Climate scientists assisted by CEI made this point in a 2006 Supreme Court amicus brief, noting that mortality rates are much higher in chilly northern cities where people tend to stay indoors than in warm Sunbelt cities.