Monday, June 18, 2012

Just Don't Breathe the Enlightenment

Score another green victory for China's reasonably enlightened despots!

Young and old residents of the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan were advised to stay indoors on Monday after a thick haze blanketed the city of nine million people, official media said.

Described by residents as opaque with yellowish and greenish tinges, the fug descended suddenly in the morning, prompting people to rush to put on face masks, witnesses told AFP. ...

Xinhua described the haze as grey-yellow in colour and said it was seen in seven cities in Hubei province, including Wuhan.

Air pollution is increasingly acute in major Chinese cities and authorities are frequently accused of underestimating the severity of the problem in urban areas, especially in Beijing.

Increasingly acute, indeed. Why if you look at it through rose colored glasses, that grey-yellow haze is really quite green. Just ask Tom Friedman.