China Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Beijing air pollution goes from ‘crazy bad’ to ‘beyond belief’ What phrase is appropriate to describe Saturday’s jaw-dropping air-pollution reading, when all of Beijing looked like an airport smokers’ lounge? BEIJING — One Friday more than two years ago, an air-quality monitoring device atop the U.S. Embassy in Beijing recorded data so horrifying that someone in the embassy called the level of pollution “Crazy Bad” in an infamous Twitter post. That day the Air Quality Index, which uses standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), had topped 500, which was supposed to be the top of the scale. So what phrase is appropriate to describe Saturday’s jaw-dropping reading of 755 at 8 p.m., when all of Beijing looked like an airport smokers’ lounge? Though an embassy spokesman said he did not have comparative data, Beijing residents who follow the Twitter feed said the Saturday numbers appeared to be the highest recorded since the embassy began its monitoring system in 2008. The embassy’s @BeijingAir Twitter feed said the level of toxicity in the air was “Beyond Index,” the terminology for levels above 500; the “Crazy Bad” label was used just once, in November 2010, by an embassy employee. According to the EPA, levels between 301 and 500 are “Hazardous,” meaning people should avoid all outdoor activity. The World Health Organization has standards that judge a score above 500 to be more than 20 times the level of particulate matter in the air deemed safe. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Thats what happens when you outsource 'carbon credit' pollution. And have a desert creeping in constantly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Let the free market sort it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan07 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 That looks like fog. Disgusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 On my first trip to China, the first thing I noticed upon stepping out of the airport was that the air had a taste (and not a good one). One day you could actually see a haze across the gymasium in which we were training (the windows were open). It's no wonder everyone there is constantly clearing their throats and spitting due to the mucosal irritation. China is going to have a huge health issue over this in the next 20 years, if they don't already have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinInsite Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Airpocalypse is upon thee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejaydana Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I had a friend of mine who had to cut short, almost immediately that is, his trip to China. He went to Shenzen (sp?) and he came down with a respiratory infection so bad it basically ruined his trip there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Fine particulate pollution is tremendously dangerous. There are going to be a huge number of deaths from lung cancer, respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease in the next few decades over there. As an aside, the Chinese Government absolutely hates it when the US posts the air monitoring results from our Beijing Embassy, because the "official" Chinese figures are always ridiculously low (and I believe China deliberately does not announce fine particulate results at all). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejaydana Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Going to be killing people in China? It's already happening. Heck, in the Middle East the airborne gas polutants kill many people and it's just a fact of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Going to be killing people in China? It's already happening. Heck, in the Middle East the airborne gas polutants kill many people and it's just a fact of life. Oh, I agree. But given the huge population of China, the number of deaths in coming decades are going to be staggering (assuming that the Chinese government lets the numbers get out). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Is that guy smoking a cigarette for the nicotine high or is he doing it because it is cleaner than breathing the air? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Thats what happens when you outsource 'carbon credit' pollution.And have a desert creeping in constantly Right. Ignore the poorly regulated factories and the astronomical increase of car's and people driving in the city in the past 10 years. It must be the carbon offsets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 Pollution, pollution, Wear a gas mask and a veil. Then you can breathe, long as you don't inhale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Right. Ignore the poorly regulated factories and the astronomical increase of car's and people driving in the city in the past 10 years. It must be the carbon offsets. Its the poorly regulated factories that allow the rest of the world to import to them causing the astronomical increase of cars and people driving in the city for the past 10 years? If they were to fix it we then couldn't afford them anymore and would have to exploit Africa and cause the 700index to show up there correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Its the poorly regulated factories that allow the rest of the world to import to them causing the astronomical increase of cars and people driving in the city for the past 10 years?If they were to fix it we then couldn't afford them anymore and would have to exploit Africa and cause the 700index to show up there correct? Actually, the biggest problem in Beijing is that they are burning an astronomical amount of coal, which is absolutely the worst way to generate electricity from an air quality point of view. Relatively speaking, driving is only a small piece of the puzzle. The factories that produce all of our Western goods are generally not in Beijing, but are in more southern Chinese cities like Shanghai and Shenzen. You are correct in some of your concerns about globalization and pollution, but your political views and your inherent distrust of environmentalism are coloring your perspective, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkabong82 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 People who complain about EPA's regulations on air pollution need only look here as the results that happen with no regulation. Maybe Beijing will do what Mexico City does and give cars different colored license plates so that they can only be driven on certain days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 People who complain about EPA's regulations on air pollution need only look here as the results that happen with no regulation. Maybe Beijing will do what Mexico City does and give cars different colored license plates so that they can only be driven on certain days. Our environmental laws just push jobs and business to other countries, who pollute at will. It's one planet. They're waste will affect us eventually. Penny wise and dollar stupid. This is why we should be giving all the help we can to companies who work in a green way, so we can keep jobs and not destroy our planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 It's not a stretch to say that China's pollution has a direct effect on our weather here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Actually, the biggest problem in Beijing is that they are burning an astronomical amount of coal, which is absolutely the worst way to generate electricity from an air quality point of view. Relatively speaking, driving is only a small piece of the puzzle. The factories that produce all of our Western goods are generally not in Beijing, but are in more southern Chinese cities like Shanghai and Shenzen. You are correct in some of your concerns about globalization and pollution, but your political views and your inherent distrust of environmentalism are coloring your perspective, IMO. I started by saying it is because of the desertification and the carbon credits, never mentioned cars.. and then was replying to a reply. I am lucky enough to live in an area that you can 'see' vs. communist China that can do whatever it wants, and we say "thank you" for shoddy products. And yes, i am clouded by my green: solar for everyone and wind and algae perspective... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sinister Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Doesn't a poster (or two) here live in Beijing? Maybe they could shed mor elight on just how bad it is, on a day to day basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Few "interesting" pics in this one. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/01/15/169422960/beijings-pollution-seen-from-space-in-before-and-after-photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 This combination of photos shows (left) the Beijing skyline during severe pollution Monday, and the same view (right) taken during clear weather on Feb. 4, 2012. This picture is telling. In the picture with the "clear" weather, there is still a huge amount of haze/smog, it is only "clear" in comparison to the first picture where the level of smog is outrageous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikbug Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 This 2 part vice video on it was a eye opener for me. It's really sad and insane. I hope something can be done before it just gets worse and worse and accepted as the normal, or maybe it already is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkabong82 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Our environmental laws just push jobs and business to other countries, who pollute at will. It's one planet. They're waste will affect us eventually.Penny wise and dollar stupid. This is why we should be giving all the help we can to companies who work in a green way, so we can keep jobs and not destroy our planet. You have to start somewhere. Better we have it then not. Maybe the people of those other countries will eventually wake up and demand regulations so that their air is clear and not like fog. Frankly I don't even want companies in America that pollute at will with no concern to the effect they cause. Those people are going to do it anyways, so IMO the best way to battle back is through global initiatives to get clean, but that has to start somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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