'Off the scale' smog grounds China flights

[Little Tich]

Source: Herald Sun / AFP

MORE than 150 flights to and from Beijing have been cancelled or delayed as a thick cloud of acrid smog shrouded the city, with US figures saying the pollution was so bad it was off the scale.

The national meteorological centre said the Chinese capital had been hit by thick fog that reduced visibility to as little as 200 metres in some parts of the city, while official data judged air quality to be "good".

But the US embassy, which has its own pollution measuring system, said on its Twitter feed that the concentration of the smallest, most dangerous particles in the air was "beyond index" for most of the morning.

The US system measures particles in the air of 2.5 micrometers or less, known as PM2.5, considered the most dangerous for people's health.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/off-the-scale-smog-grounds-china-flights/story-e6frf7jx-1226241037320

[Skittles]

1. yes but Walmart sells CHEAP STUFF!!!!

[FreakinDJ]

2. I am so glad we outsoursed manufacturing to country without EPA standards

It makes me feel so much "Greener"

[madrchsod]

3. oh, that`s great...more shit blowing our way

if it is`t their sand it`s their smog....

[pampango]

4. China public forces government to adopt US embassy's 2.5 pollution measuring standard.

China said on Friday that it would begin to publish more detailed air quality data on Beijing later this month, following a public outcry over official government readings that critics said underestimated the severity of the air pollution problem in the smog-filled capital.

The public’s anger over declining air quality has been intensified by hourly readings released by the United States Embassy in Beijing. Those reports, released on a Twitter feed, use the 2.5 standard and paint a far grimmer picture of the city’s air problems, annoying Chinese officials and alarming residents who are aware of the feeds.

Beijing’s “blue sky days” have often turned up in United States Embassy readings as “unhealthy.”

In 2009, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official pressed the United States Embassy to stop reporting the data, saying the information was “confusing” and “insulting,” according to a State Department cable published by WikiLeaks. The embassy continues to release the readings via Twitter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/world/asia/china-to-release-more-data-on-air-pollution-in-beijing.html?_r=1

Glad to see successful pressure from the Chinese public on the government regarding pollution. Great to see the role played by our embassy which has made the more accurate data public since the beginning of the Obama administration.

As in the US, Europe, Japan and any other country, action on pollution happens when citizens demand their governments do it. There always seems to be controversy surrounding the "environment vs. jobs" debate - witness the constant republican wailing about the EPA. The 1% in every country seem to prioritize the jobs part of the equation since, done their way, it means more money in their pockets.

[Odin2005]

5. Did Yoda write the headline? Some funky word order there.

[Lucky 13]

6. I am going to China in March, starting in Beijing

The more I read, the less psyched I am about going. I plan on bringing masks.