Post by coolplanet on Mar 14, 2014 23:02:21 GMT -5
Smog in Paris Rivals Beijing's
City makes public transportation free in emergency measure
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 14, 2014 4:50 PM CDT
www.newser.com/story/183789/smog-in-paris-rivals-beijings.html
Air pollution that has turned the skies over Paris a murky yellow and shrouded much of Belgium for days forced drivers to slow down today and gave millions a free ride on public transportation. The belt of smog stretched for hundreds of miles, from France's Atlantic coast to Belgium and well into Germany. It was the worst air pollution France has seen since 2007, the European Environment Agency said. Nearly all of France was under some sort of pollution alert, with levels in the Parisian region surpassing some of those in the world's most notoriously polluted cities, including Beijing and Delhi.
Smog isn't unheard of in Paris, of course, but it's rare for it to be this severe and this prolonged, especially so early in the year, reports the New York Times. France has an unusually high number of diesel vehicles, whose nitrogen oxide fumes mix with ammonia from springtime fertilizers and form particulate ammonium nitrate. Pollutants from the burning of dead leaves and wood contribute as well. One environmental group complained earlier this week, denouncing the "inertia of the government" and saying it was putting lives in danger. The European Commission, meanwhile, has criticized France multiple times for not complying with Europe's pollution rules.
Related Story
China's Smog Is 'Nuclear Winter' Bad
Crop scientist says the nation's food supply is at risk
By John Johnson, Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2014 12:36 PM CST
www.newser.com/story/182947/chinas-smog-is-nuclear-winter-bad.html
Just how lousy is Beijing's air these days? Chinese President Xi Jinping found it necessary to demonstrate his support for the people by ... walking around and breathing yesterday. That's it. "Breathing the same air, sharing the same fate," read the headline on the state's official news agency website, reports the Australian. Heroically, Xi didn't even wear a mask. But a Chinese crop scientist says the smog is approaching levels "somewhat similar to a nuclear winter" and warned that it could have devastating consequences for the nation's food supply, reports the Guardian.
As an experiment, the scientist planted two batches of chili and tomato seeds, one in a lab under artificial light and the other in a suburban Beijing greenhouse. The lab seeds sprouted in 20 days, while the others took more than 60, and "they will be lucky to live at all," she says. Poor light, poor photosynthesis. Beijing is currently enduring a particularly bad stretch in which "the air is off-the-charts bad," writes Hannah Beech in Time; she lives in Beijing with her family and had to send her two young boys off to school in masks last week. She notes that public sentiment seems to be reaching a breaking point—a citizen in Shijiazhuang has filed what is believed to be the first suit against the government tied to the bad air.
City makes public transportation free in emergency measure
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 14, 2014 4:50 PM CDT
www.newser.com/story/183789/smog-in-paris-rivals-beijings.html
Air pollution that has turned the skies over Paris a murky yellow and shrouded much of Belgium for days forced drivers to slow down today and gave millions a free ride on public transportation. The belt of smog stretched for hundreds of miles, from France's Atlantic coast to Belgium and well into Germany. It was the worst air pollution France has seen since 2007, the European Environment Agency said. Nearly all of France was under some sort of pollution alert, with levels in the Parisian region surpassing some of those in the world's most notoriously polluted cities, including Beijing and Delhi.
Smog isn't unheard of in Paris, of course, but it's rare for it to be this severe and this prolonged, especially so early in the year, reports the New York Times. France has an unusually high number of diesel vehicles, whose nitrogen oxide fumes mix with ammonia from springtime fertilizers and form particulate ammonium nitrate. Pollutants from the burning of dead leaves and wood contribute as well. One environmental group complained earlier this week, denouncing the "inertia of the government" and saying it was putting lives in danger. The European Commission, meanwhile, has criticized France multiple times for not complying with Europe's pollution rules.
Related Story
China's Smog Is 'Nuclear Winter' Bad
Crop scientist says the nation's food supply is at risk
By John Johnson, Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2014 12:36 PM CST
www.newser.com/story/182947/chinas-smog-is-nuclear-winter-bad.html
Just how lousy is Beijing's air these days? Chinese President Xi Jinping found it necessary to demonstrate his support for the people by ... walking around and breathing yesterday. That's it. "Breathing the same air, sharing the same fate," read the headline on the state's official news agency website, reports the Australian. Heroically, Xi didn't even wear a mask. But a Chinese crop scientist says the smog is approaching levels "somewhat similar to a nuclear winter" and warned that it could have devastating consequences for the nation's food supply, reports the Guardian.
As an experiment, the scientist planted two batches of chili and tomato seeds, one in a lab under artificial light and the other in a suburban Beijing greenhouse. The lab seeds sprouted in 20 days, while the others took more than 60, and "they will be lucky to live at all," she says. Poor light, poor photosynthesis. Beijing is currently enduring a particularly bad stretch in which "the air is off-the-charts bad," writes Hannah Beech in Time; she lives in Beijing with her family and had to send her two young boys off to school in masks last week. She notes that public sentiment seems to be reaching a breaking point—a citizen in Shijiazhuang has filed what is believed to be the first suit against the government tied to the bad air.