So, it turns out that scientists have been analyzing smog and have determined that at least 25% of it found on the west coast of the USA, from Seattle to southern California, comes from (you guessed it)... China.

Looks like shifting the manufacturing and pollution to China, in an effort to lower smog and increase air quality has actually BACKFIRED.

Not only have we decimated our own manufacturing and destroyed many many millions of peoples livelihood, but we've made our air quality even worse. Not only that, but it's now out of our control.

Personally, I'm not sure who to blame. It's easy to point the finger at environmentalists and libtards who naively envision a greener place to live (and rightfully so), but what about the corporatists who willfully ship manufacturing to China (and anywhere they can make an extra buck) for the sake of the stockholders?

I'm torn on this issue, but would really like to hear what GLP's have to say about this.


Here's a few excerpts from the article for those who don't have time to read the whole thing (<50%):

"The team focused on particulate emissions – tiny specks of pollutants like sulphates and soot that make up smog and are harmful to human health. Sulphate causes respiratory disease and is particularly problematic for the young, the elderly and people with asthma. areas a result acceptable levels of sulphate in the air are strictly controlled in many countries including the US.

The team found that between 17 and 36 per cent of smog produced in China in 2006 came from factories making goods for export. One-fifth of those goods are destined for the US.

An added twist came when the team combined their emissions data with atmospheric models that predict how winds shuttle particles around. These winds push Chinese smog over the Pacific and dump it on the western US, from Seattle to southern California.

The modelling revealed that on any given day in 2006, goods made in China for the US market accounted for up to a quarter of the sulphate smog over the western US."

[link to www.newscientist.com]


Peace.