China and our pollution woes

The subject may be trivialized by some, but the effect of air pollution originating from China and Eastern Asia has dire consequences for Americans and our economy.

I am located in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California. A couple weeks ago I noticed something that alerted me to a rapid change in our skies. First the night skies became the clearest they had been in many years. This week the daytime skies cleared too giving us a summertime view of the high Sierra Mountains that had been noticeably absent for over a decade.

Local news had reported on this briefly, but attributed the change to people driving fewer miles in California. That sounded fine and dandy except that Californians had been reducing their driving for many months which should have brought about a gradual change. The change was very quick and dramatic. It was about this time that I recalled news reports that China had implemented severe controls to eases air pollution prior to the opening of the Olympics. Some people thought it highly unlikely pollution from China could affect the US. I recalled accounts of how the Japanese had used the jet stream to launch incendiary balloons during WWII, and therefore knew other matter could be windblown to the USA.

I’ve since researched further for supporting documentation of the effect of pollution originating from Asia. From a NASA report:

“We used the latest satellite capabilities to distinguish industrial pollution and smoke from dust transported to the western regions of North America from East Asia. Looking at four years of data from 2002 to 2005 we estimated the amount of pollution arriving in North America to be equivalent to about 15 percent of local emissions of the U.S. and Canada,” Yu said. “This is a significant percentage at a time when the U.S. is trying to decrease pollution emissions to boost overall air quality.”

Why this should concern all Americans. Both the presumptive Democratic and Republican Presidential nominees are in favor of slapping stiff carbon cap and trade barriers on businesses located in the United States. The harsher the business climate in the USA, the more likely the business is to relocate outside the USA, and the more likely it will relocate to China. Such a move will in turn send more pollution our direction and give the politicians further reason to make government regulation on businesses located in the USA even harsher. It’s a bad cycle that must be stopped before the politicians wreck even more havoc upon our citizens and industries.

The consequences here in California are even more dire than the rest of the United States as state government is forcing businesses out of the state for air pollution the businesses may not be responsible for.

There are a couple links I’ll post with the NASA report and a time-elapsed NASA video that shows the pollution moving toward the Western United States and Canada. The video is also noteworthy as it shows the relative little pollution being generated in the USA by comparison.

Article makes sense...although liberal free trade policies are a bigger reason why they are shipping jobs to Communist China.

Also, such globalist enviromental agreements like Kyoto gave Communist China a pass on enviromental issues...while forcing strict rules on USA and the west

Ironic is that you never hear the enviro-extremists mention this about Kyoto...how the ChiComs get a pass. Funny that there has been no comment from Al Gore regarding ChiCom pollution.

You are wholly correct about the liberal free trade policies being the bigger reason. The strict emission controls slapped on our businesses make those policies even more attractive to businesses considering a move out of the USA. I'd dare say the emission controls even force some out of the country, but I'd have to research further to prove that point.

There's a related matter troubling me. There is little question the United States uses somewhere around 25% of the world fossil fuels produced. I believe this statistic is used improperly to convey the message the United States is therefore responsible for 25% of the air pollutants in the world. The USA has been at the emissions control switch longer than any other nation. I'd wager the USA is responsible for much-much less than 25% of the pollutants, and especially if measured by size of our economy.

I hope others will make themselves aware of the problem of pollution originating from Asia and the effect on us.

I agree with your points, but,,,, I do not believe that this guy can see the mountains now just because China limited driving and industry around Beijing for the Olympics. I don’t buy that!

Um...did you see the special that NBC had covering the shutdown of industries? They showed before and after shots of the city. All that I can say is WOW! China has extremely low regulations to abide by!

I would consider this story plausible.

“I would consider this story plausible.”
I don’t. The Chinese shut industry down around one city, not even the largest, in the vast industrial polluting country. The guy in Cali got some winds in his favor. I agree that we do get pollution from China, but I can’t believe that the Olympic efforts at reducing pollution have made anything more than a relatively insignificant difference in Cali’s air quality.
But, again, I do agree with most of YOUR points. Just not the article’s.

Algore is not about the environment or Global Warming. Those are the chosen tools to bring about a totalitarian world. Algore and his comrades touting feminism and multiculturalism et al are socialists, They were socialists. They will continue to be socialists. Their “causes” have no significance in themselves except as they advance universal Socialism- One World strangled by One Bureaucracy..

I am the guy that made the claim, and I understand your hesitation to accept what I wrote regarding local visibility and the possibility China may have had a role. This I do know with certainty. If China had a role, it will become most apparent after the Olympics when they relax their standards. This may be the one time we can actually measure the effect of pollution from China upon the USA. It would be a shame to let the opportunity escape.

I will be most interested to see the results. I’m very glad you’ve answered me! My wife was born in Shanghai. Many of my friends are Chinese. They’re all of the generation that was affected by Mao’s “Great Leap Backwards.” They all say that things in China are getting much better. But, one has to realize that China is in about in the same position that Pittsburg and Cleveland were at in the 1950s. I’m offended by the posters who call the Chinese athletes “Chi_coms.” That’s just not true!

It was a pleasure to answer you. I felt no ill will from your post. I am just a person that made a layman's observation, and one which I cannot claim has been substantiated by any experts. About as close as I can claim as proof was the local air quality spokesperson stating that our local air quality has improved, but she laid the credit to fewer motorists driving fewer miles. The improvement was of such suddenness that I believe another factor is in play, and I believe Eastern Asia is that reason.

It wouldn't be so unusual for pollution from Asia to make its way here. A University of Kansas research article has identified particle matter in Kansas that originated in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, which is even further than Beijing.

I've another concern regarding the pollutants, if in fact they are originating from China. Although the NASA article did estimate 10 to 15% of our air pollution is originating from China and Eastern Asia, it does not state what the composition of those pollutants is. I'm located in one of the most concentrated areas of the US for respiratory illness. Is it possible the foreign generated pollutants have a significant role? I have read that the pollutants in China have brought an increase in respiratory illness there.

My greatest hope is that someone with expertise in the field will see this as an opportunity to get facts, and present unbiased facts.

I've no animosity toward the Chinese people. Their nation has made incredible strives forward in the past few decades, and I am certain more are to come. My concern is that we do not punish our own citizens and businesses for something they may not be responsible for creating.

We've a window of opportunity for research that may never repeat itself.

My observation is not mine alone any more.

Reported on CBS Denver Sunday evening (10 August 2008): Scientists: Bad Chinese Air Makes Way To Colorado

>>Excerpt<<

"In Steamboat Springs a weather station has been set up to monitor the air in northern Colorado. This year they discovered that the amount of mercury in the air has doubled in recent years. Scientists have been able to track that increase to air from East Asia."

"What's amazing about these westerly winds is that these air particulates can travel across the Pacific in as little as three or four days," Aguilera said.

From Alaska (8 August 2008): China's bad air affects Alaska

>>Excerpt<<

"We see the Chinese influence every spring and summer," said Prof. Cathy Cahill, a faculty member of the Chemistry Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, who has been studying the international transport of pollutants for 22 years, 10 of them in Alaska.

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