US To Monitor Air Quality In India and Other Countries

mdsolar writes with news about a U.S. plan to monitor air quality in countries like India and Mongolia to help raise awareness about the dangers of pollution. "The United States says it will expand air-quality monitoring at some overseas diplomatic missions, following several years of reporting pollution data in China. The goal is to increase awareness of the health risks of outdoor air pollution, which easily spreads across borders, Secretary of State John Kerry said in announcing the program on Wednesday. The program is intended to help United States citizens abroad reduce their exposure to pollution and to help other countries develop their own air-quality monitoring through training and exchanges with American experts, he said. "We're hoping that this tool can also expand international cooperation when it comes to curbing air pollution," Mr. Kerry said. The program, run in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, will begin to operate in India in a few months. New Delhi has some of the world's worst air pollution, and residents there are becoming increasingly concerned about the dangers. American diplomatic missions will also monitor air quality in Vietnam, Mongolia and elsewhere, Mr. Kerry said."

Comments

Tradition

[mdsolar]

There is a long tradition of US diplomats making scientific observations abroad. Franklin discovered the existence of sunrise in Paris, for example: http://www.webexhibits.org/day...

Single ecosystem

[manu0601]

First you deregulate trade, and you use that to pressure your suppliers to have the lowest possible cost. In order to achieve this, the suppliers must crush workers in remote countries and fuck the environment... and suddently you discover that there is only one single ecosystem and that pollution affects you.

It is nice to see a US government that acknowledges there is general interest linked to environment. What will come next? They should push international environmental regulations that trump trade deregulation. I wonder if I will live long enough to see that.

And they'll check their own backyard too ?

[MarkTina]

Since the US is the number 2 polluter in the world!

http://www.reuters.com/news/pi...
(probably not the most accurate report but good enough example).

Re:And they'll check their own backyard too ?

[sound vision]

There are already equivalent or better levels of monitoring within the US. Now they're monitoring places that don't have the capacity or will to monitor themselves.

USA has very low credibility in India...

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

In general the mainstream media in India and almost all of the intelligentsia, thought leaders, meme generators in India are very hostile to the West in general and USA in particular. They will dutifully line up days if necessary for a visa to the western countries, but in their hearts and mind, they just don't trust USA.

We can argue till the sacred cows come how why it is so, or whether it is justified, or whether it hurts or helps USA or India. But ground reality is, USA has no real credibility. If it monitors air quality and announces the results, people would find thousands of hidden agenda and subversion in it.

It is not just India. This old lady in northern Iraq passionately pleads for peace to ISIS militants, (assuming the sub titles are true) tells them their ways are un-Islamic in their face. But thinks America is providing ISIS weapons and money!

I grew up in India and visit it every year. It is very hard to convince even highly educated and informed Indians that "USA is not a monolith. Parts of it are purely profit driven. Parts of it are genuinely altruistic, desiring real democracy and good life for all of the world. No, President Obama is not conspiring with the CEOs of Coca-Cola and Pepsi to drive your hometown soda maker out of business, your rose-flavor-soda is safe from Pepsi. No, the President can not order CEO of Warner Brothers to censor a movie". I am talking about people who have very advanced degrees, worked in Middle East, Africa and far East outside India, people who have visited USA and Europe as tourists and visited friends and relatives there. They just don't believe any part of USA could be altruistic.

All the goodwill earned by all the people doing tremendous charity work, altruistic work, is squandered by a few bad players, mostly corporations corrupting the local politicians for their profit.