

29% of Bay Area's particulate air pollution comes from across the Pacific (2010) - balsam
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/88/i46/8846news3.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+EnvironmentalScienceTechnologyOnlineNews+ES%26T+Online+News

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seanmcdirmid
This is an article from 2008 about dust storms from the Gobi travelling across
the Pacific; this isn't the main pollution problem in China today.

The dust coming in from the Gobi was a result of deforestation and poor land
management policies, which were pretty much cleaned up for the Olympics and
have remained quite fixed. We haven't had a real dust storm in Beijing since
early 2008, I think, and definitely not one in the last 4 years.

The PM2.5 today is not carried by dust from the Gobi, but it still exists, of
course. Ironically, the overall effect today is much worse than it was in 2008
(maybe because it just stays in Asia now?). I'm not sure if the pollution can
still travel across the pacific without the huge dust storms of the past.

Here is some more info:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Dust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Dust)

All of the info in the article is out of date though. I wish I could find
something more up to date. Edit: a recent dust storm in March 2013 that made
its way to Japan:

* [http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1187348/dust-storms-a...](http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1187348/dust-storms-and-smog-revisit-streets-beijing)

* [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/12/national/tokyo-d...](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/12/national/tokyo-dust-storm-came-complete-with-china-sand/#.UhRoKpIwd8E)

I remember this, but I didn't think it was particularly bad, at least the sky
didn't turn yellow. The air was definitely crappy though, but once it all blew
out (well, to Japan), it was quite clean afterwards.

Perhaps the solution to China's pollution problems are giant fans (Japan can
then build giant robots to destroy these fans).

~~~
po
That dust storm earlier this year certainly did turn the sky yellow at my
place in Tokyo:

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/poswald/8544202652/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/poswald/8544202652/)

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/poswald/8544418994/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/poswald/8544418994/)

It was one of the strangest weather phenomenons: it came and went within a few
hours.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
That is quite typical of a dust storm actually. It is only on for an hour or
so then it blows itself out. Anyways, I haven't seen one of those since 2008,
though it was quite bad in March, maybe we just avoided the yellow skies while
Tokyo didn't?

------
ars
If we want to do anything about CO2 and pollution in the atmosphere, the low
hanging fruit is China.

Every country has stuff it can do, but China is on the 80% side of the 80/20
rule.

~~~
softbuilder
I wonder if there will ever be a war over something like this.

~~~
veidr
Probably not any time soon, because at present that would mean going to war
with China.

I live in Tokyo, which is obviously a lot closer to China than the Bay Area
is, and here we have PM 2.5 pollution reports on the news a lot like the
regular weather report. On the worst days I throw on a 3M respirator[1] before
I ride my bike across town, which makes me look like a character from some
kind of post-apocalypse video game.

I am glad to see articles like this, because hopefully hard numbers will
provide a concrete basis for diplomatic/economic pressure to make it better.

Even if the Chinese leaders are willing to pursue economic growth even at the
tremendous cost of making the air in Beijing[2] so bad that (rich) kids go to
preschool in pressurized tents, I don't want to have to keep my kid indoors
all the way across the Sea of Japan in Tokyo -- but on the worst days, we do
(on the advice of the pediatrician).

(In that sense, I am selfishly glad it is reaching the US west coast --
because the US has a lot more leverage to influence China's behavior than does
Japan.)

[1]:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NDN29O/ref=s9_qpp_gw_p6...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NDN29O/ref=s9_qpp_gw_p60_d99_ir01?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-7&pf_rd_r=14A8GFPJBK6C2ESC1XQH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938451&pf_rd_i=507846)

[2]:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=beijing+air&client=safari&rl...](https://www.google.com/search?q=beijing+air&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=NWIUUsuKLo2rkgW1wIDYBg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=914&bih=778)

~~~
rdl
I wonder if this will raise the value of land in Western China (or west of
China), out of the pollution stream.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Even Kunming has pollution that is considered bad (though much better than
east China). I don't think the environment gets much better in Kazakhstan,
they are still industrializing. Once you hit Iran, it is almost as bad as
China.

------
tomhschmidt
A lot of this pollution is just a remnant from when China's economy was still
largely manufacturing-based. Now that this percentage is beginning to change,
(mid 30s in mid 2000s down to high 20s now), the government seems earnest in
their attempts to curb pollution.

See:

[http://www.businessinsider.com/china-pollution-business-
oppo...](http://www.businessinsider.com/china-pollution-business-
opportunity-2013-8)

[http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/31/china-diesel-
standa...](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/31/china-diesel-standards-
idUKL4N0B04LE20130131)

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Around Beijing, the problem is (1) use of coal as fuel with outdated poorly
maintained energy producing equipment, (2) use of coal directly by peasants in
the winter to keep warm (in Hebei), and (3) lots of cars with poor fuel
quality (even if the emissions equipment is working, they aren't given the
right quality of fuel). The solutions are quite simple: upgrade the equipment,
get farmers to use natural gas for warming, and import the good black stuff
from Saudi, not the cheap bad stuff (Sinopec is evil).

~~~
tomhschmidt
I prefer to blame 串儿 and excessive 中南海 smokers

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Blaming the Chuan (outdoor BBQ) vendors is quite funny; I feel like the
officials are trying to deflect blame for their black Audi's running on crappy
fuel.

------
gtani
2nd or 3rd order related :

    
    
        How much could a growing supply of airborne wildfire soot be contributing 
        to the decline of Greenland's ice reflectivity? How important is soot 
        to amplifying Greenland's melt?
    

[http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/adventure-
ethi...](http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/adventure-
ethics/Wildfires-and-Ice-Dark-Snow-Climate-Science-Expedition-Field-Book.html)

------
jzzskijj
If US companies stopped manufacturing their products in China, a part of this
air pollution could be handled and prevented domestically. Ha!

------
guelo
I'm not sure why this study is interesting compared to the much more
informative and amazing animation that NASA put out a few years ago,
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtJzn8A725w](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtJzn8A725w)

------
g123g
I would like to see some numbers which tell which places in US are least
affected by this kind of external pollution. As pollution from Asia is going
to increase, it might make sense to look at these places especially for ppl
with breathing issues.

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frank_boyd
Surprise! Pollution is a _global_ issue, too!

It's time to start "thinking humanity", not "my country".

------
marincounty
I truely hope a virus mutates the DNA of human sperm, or eggs; making the
world population decline.

~~~
indefatigable
I'm getting a serious Poe's law vibe from this comment and username.

~~~
mikeash
Benderism: save the world by killing all humans.

[http://humanities.philosophy.objectivism.narkive.com/SivGxJB...](http://humanities.philosophy.objectivism.narkive.com/SivGxJBl/benderism)

