Stunning Fact: China's Smog Stops Flights & Is 36 Times Higher Than Safe Air

Flights cancelled. Hospital admissions skyrocketing. Air so polluted that it is a deadly fog.  Fact or fiction?

Fact. www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/14/beijing-smog-continues-media-action.  China's air, during Sunday and Monday, had soot readings that were close to an incredible 900 ppm per cubic meter or 36 times safe levels.  

Simply put, Chinese air is an epidemic killer that shaves many years off life expectancy. Why is the air so deadly

China has burgeoning vehicle sales, is now the largest car market in the world, and has jumping oil consumption.  The country also gets 70% of its total energy from burning coal and often in plants without modern pollution controls.  Natural gas and renewables are growing but are a small part of China's total energy use.

Look no further than China to see what happens, even in an increasingly wealthy nation, in the absence of effective environmental rules.