BEIJING VERSUS HONOLULU ON AIR POLLUTION

The headline article and photo on the front page of the Honolulu Star Advertiser today was titled:

VOG CLOGS AIRWAYS

I happened to be golfing at the Ala Wai Golf Course, and was not comfortable breathing that air:

Well, how bad is our air compared to Beijing?  According to AIRNow.gov:

Air Quality Index (AQI) Values	Levels of Health Concern	Colors
When the AQI is in this range:	..air quality conditions are:	...as symbolized by this color:
0-50	Good	Green
51-100	Moderate	Yellow
101-150	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Orange
151 to 200	Unhealthy	Red
201 to 300	Very Unhealthy	Purple
301 to 500	Hazardous	Maroon

After a quick search, I couldn't find what Honolulu's Air Quality Index was yesterday.  Today, the trades are back and our AQI is 13.  Today, Beijing is at:

Beijing AQI: Beijing Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI)

153

Unhealthy Updated on Saturday 4:00

Nanjing was worse:

Nanjing Air Pollution.

168

Unhealthy

Updated on Saturday 4:00

On my final day in Beijing, My Ultimate Global Adventure Day # 29 a month ago:

Beijing AQI: Beijing Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI)

219

Very Unhealthy Updated on Monday 10:00

I began coughing that day, and haven't quite totally gotten over it.

News China in April reported on a Weibo poll of the people:  Do you think China needs its own Clean Air Law?  99% said yes.  The Washington Post had a comparison in February:

I fear, though, that Hawaii's air pollution is a lot worse than publicized.  I quote from my blog posting earlier this year:

It was exactly 30 years yesterday that I was golfing on the Volcano Golf and Country Club on the Big Island of Hawaii when on the tenth hole we felt the ground shudder.  Soon thereafter, we saw fountains of lava a couple of hundred yards high only a few hundred yards from where we stood.  This was the beginning of the current Kilauea eruption, which has now continuously gone on for three decades.

According to that Star Advertiser article mentioned above, the current sulfur dioxide emission rate is twice the amount of the most polluting coal-fired power plant on the mainland.  This visible haze (and VOG is probably misnamed, for there is no real fog as such as in SMOG), is comprised of "gas and aerosols of tiny particulates and acidic droplets."  Further, "small amounts of several toxic metals, including selenium, mercury, arsenic and iridium."  I particularly worry about those living on the Big Island (click here for a blog site), where this volcano is located.  The American Lung Association last month gave a failing grade to the island.  However, this report indicated there were ZERO unhealthy days of air pollution in Honolulu last year.  I can't believe this, for what happened yesterday occurred at least 30 times in 2012, and doctors generally report that they see a lot more patients with respiratory problems during those days.

However, if Honolulu was totally safe last year from this VOG, can you imagine how terrible Beijing must be?

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