watson
06-21-2008, 09:28 AM
looks like the Chinese Olympics will be a cluster
fuck of bad air
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=3453777&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos2
The best way to understand Beijing's size is to visualize what Manhattan might be like without the Hudson and East Rivers. Beijing just keeps going. Manhattan is almost 23 square miles. Beijing is more than 150!
Despite all of that, Beijing still doesn't look green. That's because the air pollution is about as bad as anywhere in the world. We were lucky when we visited in April. It was windy and had rained hard for three days before we arrived, so the air was pleasant. I hope it's like that in August, but most of the experts we talked with doubt it will be. Had the Olympics been held last August, the air quality in Beijing would have been in violation of the World Health Organization standard every single day.
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, a tough and tenacious American mountain biker we interviewed for one of our pieces, told us he threw up during his race in Beijing last September because the pollution was so bad. Fifty of the best mountain bikers in the world started that race; eight finished. But American triathlete Matt Reed may have described it best. Reed told us he went for a jog in Beijing, blew his nose, and could see the black pollution that he'd blown out of his body. How's that for an image? The International Olympic Committee has already admitted it might have to reschedule some outdoor events if the pollution is bad in August. That would be a huge embarrassment for the Chinese hosts.
http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0620/oly_bejingsmog_580.jpg
fuck of bad air
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=3453777&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos2
The best way to understand Beijing's size is to visualize what Manhattan might be like without the Hudson and East Rivers. Beijing just keeps going. Manhattan is almost 23 square miles. Beijing is more than 150!
Despite all of that, Beijing still doesn't look green. That's because the air pollution is about as bad as anywhere in the world. We were lucky when we visited in April. It was windy and had rained hard for three days before we arrived, so the air was pleasant. I hope it's like that in August, but most of the experts we talked with doubt it will be. Had the Olympics been held last August, the air quality in Beijing would have been in violation of the World Health Organization standard every single day.
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, a tough and tenacious American mountain biker we interviewed for one of our pieces, told us he threw up during his race in Beijing last September because the pollution was so bad. Fifty of the best mountain bikers in the world started that race; eight finished. But American triathlete Matt Reed may have described it best. Reed told us he went for a jog in Beijing, blew his nose, and could see the black pollution that he'd blown out of his body. How's that for an image? The International Olympic Committee has already admitted it might have to reschedule some outdoor events if the pollution is bad in August. That would be a huge embarrassment for the Chinese hosts.
http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0620/oly_bejingsmog_580.jpg