Cooperation Needed on China's Dirty Air

Andrew Calhoun, Jr. / 4-23-08 / 4:55 PM / Pollution / Current Event #15

This week in a Japanese paper "The Daily Yomiuri", a writer took to researching and discussing about China's air pollution problems and how they can be solved. In the article, attention is drawn to how some experts feel about international cooperation in regards to China's pollution issues. One thing I found interesting about this article was how it compared Japan's prior issues with air pollution with China's current issues; how in some cases their statistics match Japan's past stats and then how other stats, like the suspended particulate matter statistic (SPM), was much higher in China then it was/is in Japan.
Another problem, according to the article, that persists is the fact that "air pollution is caused not only by SPM but also chemical substances that have turned into gases in the atmosphere." While these chemical substance may or may not cause harm, the article states that it can be a cause for "acute hazard to human health but also long-term, chronic problems for humans and plants." In response to the various facts discovered about China's air pollution, the article reveals how scientists with in the region and from areas Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam have done joint research on air pollution. Only recently have some of the researchers been voicing their concern about recent developments connected to international efforts.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080424TDY04303.htm