Welcome Olympians, please put on your gas masks
Despite it's efforts to shut down its smoggy industry and alter its weather for this year's Olympic Games, it seems that Beijing just can't catch a break. With the games set to begin in only 2 and 1/2 months, sandstorms from Mongolia are causing Beijing's air quality to go from bad to worse to worst -- and the authorities are warning citizens with respiratory ailments to stay indoors.Right now, Beijing's air quality is officially rated as "heavily polluted" -- not exactly the kind of environment that attracts world class athletes. Usually, these sand storms hit Beijing skies in March and April, but for whatever reason, they seem to be trying to sabotage the Olympics.
At this point, the outlook for the Beijing games is seeming kinda bleak. There's already been a near record level of controversy in the run up to the opening ceremony, and now the actual games are looking like they might be severely affected by unbreathable air. Why did the Olympic Committee pick Beijing again?
It's an interesting case study in how difficult it can be to get control of a runaway pollution problem. The Chinese government seems to be everything in its power to host a successful Olympics -- they've launched an extra weather satellite to attempt to forecast and zap acid rain clouds before they can rain down on athletes and spectators -- yet their efforts don't seem to be producing much in the way of results. Now, with the earthquake, we just hope their priorities aren't diverted by a relatively inconsequential sporting event.
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