Air pollution is a growing problem in most cities (big and small). The "Daily Dose" aims to disseminate the best available information on air pollution and engage in discussions to better understand the process of air quality management. For more details on the program, please visit http://www.urbanemissions.info
Saturday, February 21, 2015
US Embassies Monitoring Air Quality in Multiple Countries
In 2008, American diplomats in Beijing quietly installed an
electronic monitor outside the U.S. Embassy to test pollution levels in
the Chinese capital’s famously sooty air. The results, posted daily on
the Internet, were mainly intended for U.S citizens and visitors, but
soon ordinary Chinese were logging in for reliable information about
health threats in the air they breathed. Chinese officials complained, but the daily reports from the embassy’s monitor added
to the pressure that eventually led China to take dramatic steps to
reduce smog. It worked so well, in fact, that the Obama administration
has now decided on a major expansion — to U.S. diplomatic missions all
around the world.
In a joint announcement
on Wednesday, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and EPA Administrator
Gina McCarthy unveiled plans to place air-quality monitors outside
embassies in numerous foreign cities, starting with diplomatic posts in
India and then moving to Vietnam, Mongolia and other countries.
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