Matthew E. Kahn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
China has the world’s second-largest economy, powered by cheap labor and cheap fossil fuel. But now Chinese urbanites want greener, healthier lifestyles. Can the government deliver them?
Air pollution from burning firewood and charcoal is the fourth-biggest killer in many countries.
Face masks like these, modeled by students from the Peltier Aerosol Lab, vary widely in effectiveness against fine particle pollution.
Richard E. Peltier
Inexpensive cloth face masks, worn by many people in heavily polluted countries, offer only partial protection. Instead governments should warn people to avoid exposure and work to clear the air.
Data from London’s Great Smog of 1952 show that air pollution exposure in early life leads to striking increases in asthma rates. Millions in the developing world face similar risks today.
Nigeria is one of the countries in Africa that has a serious air pollution problem.
Reuters
Africa has largely been ignored when it comes to official global air quality programmes. Yet low-income countries like many of those in Africa are particularly affected by air pollution.
U.S. states need to put in place new ozone air quality standards, but how they are measured – based on peak ozone – doesn’t always best reflect a city’s overall air quality.
Paulina Segarra, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey y Ajnesh Prasad, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Mexico City is suffering through an air quality crisis this spring, but institutional corruption is making the proposed solution – restricting car usage – ineffective.
Professor & Chair in Air Quality and Health; Founding Director, Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), Co-Director, Institute for Sustainability, University of Surrey, University of Surrey