A new study reveals two findings on air pollution spewing from China's coal-burning factories. First, the pollution blows to the U.S and other nations. Second, 20% of the pollution can be traced to Western demand for cheap goods from those factories.
"About one-fifth of the pollution China spews into the atmosphere comes from producing goods for export to the United States and other countries, according to the paper [PDF] by a group of scientists that was published [Jan. 20] in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)," writes Tony Barboza.
In six days, winds can blow the smog and particulates that cloak China's eastern cities to the U.S and "spread pollution levels over the West Coast of up to 75 percent of federal standards," writes John Metcalfe of The Atlantic Cities.
These transported pollutants explain why air pollution levels "have remained at a high level during 2000–2009 even as emissions produced in the United States, Europe, and Japan have decreased,” the scientists wrote.
The paper is a reminder that U.S. demand for cheap imports from China has a way of blowing those environmental problems back at us, said Steve Davis, an Earth system scientist at UC Irvine and co-author of the study.
In The New York Times, Edward Wong writes that Jintai Lin, a professor in the department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at Peking University’s School of Physics and lead author of the paper, "said he hoped that the research would stimulate discussion of adopting consumption-based accounting of emissions, rather than just production-based accounting."
Davis went beyond air pollution and linked the report to climate change, expressing "hope that the findings would be used by world governments working to craft international agreements to limit emissions of carbon dioxide...as well as short-lived air pollutants that are responsible for poor air quality around the globe."
Wong notes that last July, PNAS "published a paper by other researchers that found a drop in life spans in northern China because of air pollution," also posted here.
FULL STORY: China's industry exporting air pollution to U.S., study says
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.