Particles from coal power plants and diesel vehicles and dust from deforested regions is carried on the trade winds for thousands of miles before settling on areas like California, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
On some days, a city like Los Angeles can expect up to 25 percent of its particulate matter from China. Some experts believe that China will one day account for a third of all California's air pollution.
Researcher Steven S. Cliff displays a set of rotating drums that separate aerosols from the air at his monitoring site atop Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Calif., Thursday, July 20, 2006. AP/Eric Risberg photo from Yahoo News.
China is also degrading air quality in nearby countries like South Korea and Japan, and the other growing Asian ndustrial powerhouse, India, isn't helping the Asian air quality situation either.
For its part, China expects to spend some US$162 billion over the next five years to address environmental problems, but many experts see the challenge the country faces as daunting giving the speed of economic growth.
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