800 Micrograms

For coastal communities, it is increased mega-storm activity generating surges and eventually land loss from permanent rises in ocean levels. For Europe, it is the absolute inability to solve the debt crisis in their least economically viable nations. For the United States, it is a combination of environmental challenges combined with severe political/economic polarization that makes dealing with the nation’s crises all-but-impossible. For China, it is death by pollution. There are life-style and life-killers everywhere, more than we have seen since World War II enveloped the globe in flesh-destroying combat.

We look in envy at China’s economic solidity, their ability to embrace modernity and skyrocket from feudalism to the cutting edge of ultra-modern architectural splendor and their vast pools of currency reserves. But we really should examine the contaminants in almost every source of fresh water and the breathability of the air in its major cities generated by the growth that generated these cash flow benefits. While Americans shoot each other at levels unparalleled anywhere else on earth, China poisons its population instead.

You’d think that mainstream Chinese politicians would at least insure that the air where they live and work would be the best in the land. But quite the contrary, Beijing is just as bad as the worst the rest of the country has to offer. My friends living in that city all have installed ugly industrial-strength air filtration systems (like the ones pictured above) in their homes and offices and many have smaller systems for their cars. My other friends in places like South Korea complain that their car finishes are corroding away from pollutants in the air… pollutants that travel from China, across North Korea and fall onto the South.

The World Health Organization has set a standard of 25 micrograms (0.00000088184904873951 ounces) per cubic meter (about 35.3 cubic feet) as the average level of micro-particles in the air. Their label for this standard is “PM2.5.” Over PM10, air is considered unsafe. At PM30, children and the elderly should stay indoors. By way of example, the highest PM level ever recorded in Los Angeles is PM43, a fairly big multiple of over 4 times the WHO-suggested safe level. The scale is supposed to top off at PM50. While this is pretty outrageous, LA air is getting better… just as Beijing air is sinking into killing levels of pollution. A cloud of smog has hovered over Beijing of late, a fatal reminder of how bad things have become.

“According to the Environmental Protection Agency, levels between 301 and 500 are ‘Hazardous,’ meaning people should avoid all outdoor activity. The World Health Organization has standards that judge a score above 500 to be more than 20 times the level of particulate matter in the air deemed safe.” New York Times, January 12^th. The folks at the U.S. Embassy call Beijing’s 500+ readings (PM50+) “Crazy Bad.” China’s official position for readings over PM50 is that they simply don’t exist. “The municipal government reported levels as high as 500 on [January 12^th] evening from some monitoring stations. The Chinese system does not report numbers beyond 500. Nevertheless, readings in central Beijing throughout the day were at the extreme end of what is considered hazardous according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency standards. (By comparison, the air quality index in New York City, using the same standard, was 19 at 6 a.m. on January 12^th [PM1.9].)

“Official Beijing city readings on [January 12^th] suggested pollution levels [well] over 400 [PM40]. Unofficial reading from a monitor at the US embassy recorded 800 [PM80]… Once inhaled, the tiny particles can cause respiratory infections, as well as increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease. … Last year Chinese authorities warned the US embassy not to publish its data. But the embassy said the measurements were for the benefit of embassy personnel and were not citywide.” BBC.co.uk, January 12^th. Given the general reliability of PRC-issued government statistics, I think that the U.S. Embassy numbers are dead (you should pardon the expression) on… for the entire city. While some of this pollution comes from ordinary dust blown in from the countryside, the obvious toxicity of the atmosphere is driven by massively rising particulate emissions from cars and using coal to generate power.

China generates 80% of its electricity needs through coal-fired plants, literally building an average of two new such facilities every week. The Peoples Republic consumes about half the world’s annual coal usage, literally burning more than the United States, Russia, Japan and Western Europe combined. Reuters.com, December 18^th. And as we are clearly aware, the environmental damage is hardly relegated to the home of the relevant polluting nation, even if they are killing their citizens in droves. The World Bank tells us that 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in China. Wikipedia estimates that somewhere between 350,000 and 400,000 people die in the PRC from ailments directly related to environmental pollution, and a multiple of that number suffer seriously impaired health. Still jealous?

I’m Peter Dekom, and the balance between life expectancy and economic growth is way out of whack on this planet.