China’s toxic air

[David]

I guess we can be thankful we don't live in China. I have always heard how bad it is over there and wondered about how much lung disease they have.

257,000 people could die from China’s toxic air over the next decade buff.ly/16DzROX

If nothing is done to slash the levels of toxic smog in China’s air, some 257,000 Chinese people could die over the next decade from pollution-related diseases, according to a new study released this week by Peking University and Greenpeace. That really is a lot of people; it’s roughly equal to the population of Orlando, Fla., or Buffalo, N.Y.

The researchers analyzed the 2013 levels of what’s known as PM2.5 pollutants — tiny airborne particles billowing from China’s coal production and industry. They projected the number of “premature deaths” — from diseases like heart disease and lung cancer — that could occur over the next 10 years if 2013′s level of pollution persists over the long term.

At the top of the list of China’s most polluted cities, toxic air in the industrial hub of Shijiazhuang could be responsible for as many as 137 premature deaths per 100,000 people.

The report comes amid renewed attention on China’s smog crisis. Another Greenpeace study released earlier this month revealed that 90 percent of Chinese cities that report their air pollution levels are failing to meet China’s own national standards, despite the government’s self-declared “war on pollution,” which includes measures to curtail coal use in big cities like Beijing, and to limit heavy industries.

If China met those standards, says Greenpeace in this latest report, nearly half of the premature deaths could be avoided.

The research is also notable because it was conducted jointly by China’s best known and most prestigious university, Peking University (known locally as Beida), and Greenpeace, the international environmental advocacy group that has had a long and complicated relationship with China’s authoritarian officials. The study was widely reported by state-run media, in another sign China’s censors are loosening some restrictions around environmental reporting in the country in the face of intense public pressure for transparency.

The report adds to the growing amount of literature about the deadly impacts of the country’s smog. An article that appeared in the The Lancet last year said that air pollution caused 350,000 to 500,000 premature deaths a year. An earlier Lancet study reported that air pollution caused 1.2 million premature deaths in 2010 alone.

By James West on 7 Feb 2015

[jim]

Thanks for sharing David.

[mary57]

Not a good report on China's environment, now all the face masks we see people wearing make sense. Thank you David for sharing this.

[stoker55]

Thanks Dave I saw a documentary on the air quality there. It is so sad that kids can't even go to school some days because of the pollution in the air. We certainly are living in God's country here in North America.

[gerald]

I was in China in 2011 and it was bad. They tried to show us their national statdium in Bejing, even from half a mile away the smog was so bad you could barely see it. And the smog covers most major cities and surrounding areas. They have made massive economic progress but it has not come without a cost.

[David]

Looks like India is bad also.

India's air pollution cuts 660 million lives short by 3 years, new study finds

apne.ws/1F8cJDp

NEW DELHI (AP) -- India's filthy air is cutting 660 million lives short by about three years, according to research published Saturday that underlines the hidden costs of the country's heavy reliance on fossil fuels to power its economic growth with little regard for the environment.

While New Delhi last year earned the dubious title of being the world's most polluted city, India's air pollution problem is extensive, with 13 Indian cities now on the World Health Organization's list of the 20 most polluted.

That nationwide pollution burden is estimated to be costing more than half of India's population at least 3.2 years of their lives, according to the study, led by Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago and involving environmental economists from Harvard and Yale universities. It estimates that 99.5 percent of India's 1.2 billion people are breathing in pollution levels above what the WHO deems as safe.

"The extent of the problem is actually much larger than what we normally understand," said one of the study's co-authors, Anant Sudarshan, the India director of the Energy Policy Institute of Chicago. "We think of it as an urban problem, but the rural dimension has been ignored."

Added up, those lost years come to a staggering 2.1 billion for the entire nation, the study says.

BY KATY DAIGLE
AP ENVIRONMENT WRITER

Read more: apne.ws/1F8cJDp

[skate4life]

Thanks for the articles! I remember a TV program early on when global warming was being a hot topic and they showed the air masses from the developing countries flowing over and adding to our own continent. That was why they were pushing for other countries to get involved, we can't do it in isolation. I think it is going to get worse until of if these other massive countries begin to put in some controls. Look how long and struggles to get some progress here in the USA!

[David]

I saw also where it spills over into our Countries.

It don't look like it will get any better anytime soon.

India developed extreme air pollution while relying on burning fossil fuels to grow its economy and pull hundreds of millions of people up from poverty. More than 300 million Indians still have no access to electricity, with at least twice that number living on less than $2 a day.

While India has pledged to grow its clean energy sector, with huge boosts for solar and wind power, it also has committed to tripling its coal-fired electricity capacity to 450 gigawatts by 2030. Yet there still are no regulations for pollutants like sulfur dioxide or mercury emissions, while fuel standards remain far below Western norms and existing regulations often are ignored.

To meet its goal for coal-fired electricity, the Power Ministry says the country will double coal production to 1 billion tons within five years, after already approving dozens of new coal plants. That will have predictable consequences for the country's already filthy air, experts say.

The coal expansion plans through 2030 will at least double sulphur dioxide levels, along with those of nitrogen oxide and lung-clogging particulate matter, according to a study published in December by Urban Emissions and the Mumbai-based nonprofit group Conservation Action Trust.

apne.ws/1F8cJDp

[mary57]

Good follow ups, thank you David, too many lives will be lost because of this problem, but for developing countries I guess the balance is how many lives are improved. Think back to the late 1800s early 1900s and England's air and the big cities in North America were heavily polluted too. Yes it is a global issue but it is also a developmental issue too.