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Scientists Fear Impact of Asian Pollutants On US
During the Olympics we discussed the international monitoring effort as China shut down factories and curtailed automobile travel in an attempt to reduce pollution. Now reader Anti-Globalism sends in a story that reveals that monitoring effort to be ongoing, with a bigger mandate: assessing the impact of China's pollution on the US. In fact the problem is bigger still because, as one researcher put it, "It's one atmosphere." Scientists are finding that pollution from, for example, Europe can travel right around the globe in three weeks. "By some estimates more than 10 billion pounds of airborne pollutants from Asia — ranging from soot to mercury to carbon dioxide to ozone — reach the US annually. The problem is only expected to worsen: Some Chinese officials have warned that pollution in their country could quadruple in the next 15 years. While some scientists are less certain, others say the Asian pollution could destabilize weather patterns across the North Pacific, mask the effects of global warming, reduce rainfall in the American West and compromise efforts to meet air-pollution standards."
Yeah, as anybody knows it's common industry practice to point your cameras into the sun. Plus all the events are held outside at early morning or late evening while the sun is on the horizon. As a matter of fact, the only reason I watched the Olympics was to look for the sun in a camera shot.
I agree entirely. Environmentalism is obviously a red herring. Its impossible for China to pollute because they are not imperialists. Only imperialists pollute, and if they aren't polluting, its still their fault.
Lets be clear here, just because the imperialists are hypocritical polluters doesn't mean that China is not, nor that China doesn't need to stop it.
Let me say this again. China needs to stop polluting, and so does everyone else. If that means that China's crypto-fascist government needs to shell out for some scrubbers on their chimneys and maybe only grow at 6% a year, then they should pony up. This isn't 1908, China missed its chance to innocently screw up their environment and claim to not know what was going on.
You appear to be arguing that just because the West fucked up their environment and everyone else's that China should now get their chance to fuck themselves up and everyone else too, I'd suggest that you just take up a habit of Chinese unfiltered cigarettes and let us get on with our lives.
And you, my friend, are not only a hypocrite but an irrational one. We aren't discussing atomic weapons, warfare, or our form of government.
Yeah, because we all know bombing all those factories just makes the world greener!
News flash: wars pollute. All those warplanes flying around pollute. Atomic detonations pollute, a lot. All those radioactive bullets we've left all over the Iraqi battlefield pollute. All those emissions from tanks and armored vehicles that get 2mpg with a tailwind pollute.
What about this point did you not understand?
You can say pollution doesn't matter in the face of national security, but then the Chinese will turn around and say pollution doesn't matter in the face of economic growth. What's the difference? The rationalizations may be different, but the end result is the same.
As for this:
So far as the U.S. being the greatest polluter ... we'll, we're still the greatest manufacturer.
Probably not. China has been predicted to eclipse us in gross output this year. So what's our excuse when that happens?