Air Pollution Experiment

Today is Blog Action Day, and thousands of bloggers around the web are uniting to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment. Here is Japan Probe’s contribution:

The following clip was from a Japanese news report conducted on air pollution in Beijing and the possible consequences it could have on the health of athletes during the 2008 Summer Olympics, which that city will be hosting. To illustrate to us just how dirty the air is in Beijing, a reporter traveled to a pedestrian bridge near Beijing’s Olympic stadium and conducted an experiment using a portable vacuum cleaner and some filters. Filters were secured around the mouth of the vacuum cleaner, which was then turned on for 5, 10, and 30 minute durations. Here is the video clip of the experiment:

And pictures for those of you who don’t want to sit through the whole video:

According to the report, the air in Beijing is six times more polluted than the air in Tokyo. We as humans may not be as efficient at sucking in grime as that vacuum cleaner, but that’s no reason not to be worried about the air pollution in major urban centers. Better start stockpiling gas masks, folks!

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http://dave-lucas.blogspot.com Dave Lucas

Can mankind restore the planet? Is it too little, too late? I’m convinced that whatever we do, however small, helps. Please stop by my blog and read my Blog Action Day post:
http://dave-lucas.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-action-day-2007-salute-to-al-gore.html
404error

srsly after(during) the olympics a lot of atheltes will have some health/breathe problems^^

btw japanprobe is an awesome site!thx for the updates!
mrpants

The video is pretty misleading considering the test is performed nearby a FREEWAY! Obviously, the pollution emission is bad there as opposed to nearby a park or something.
http://myso-calledjapaneselife.blogspot.com/ Shari

Re: mrpatns comment

I’m not sure how the video is misleading. That’s a whole lot of pollution being released into the environment from a long stretch of land. It’s exactly the sort of thing people should be made aware of on Blog Action Day as it clearly illustrates the effect of car usage and hopefully will encourage greater use of public transport to reduce such pollution.

I applaud Japan Probe for taking part in Blog Action Day and finding such a uniquely appropriate video for us to see.
mrpants

Re: Shari

Yeah, i’m quite aware of the conditioned there. I’ve been to Beijing before. I’m not denying that the condition is bad there but the experiment is performed in an extreme case where the pollution emission originates. It’s conveying to the audience that it’s like that everywhere which isn’t entirely true… at least that’s how I see it.
Martin F

Since it is a pedestrian bridge near Beijing’s Olympic stadium (according to the blog entry) it appears to be a very legitimate experiment. Why are you calling that an extreme case? That is exactly where the sports events will be held.

You can get official Beijing pollution data from the China SEPA page that I liked to for my Blog Action Day entry…

http://martinjapan.blogspot.com/2007/10/sepa.html
mrpants

Yes, I know that but the condition outside the stadium doesn’t quite reflect that of inside the stadium I imagine. I would’ve much prefer if the experiment be performed within the stadium because that would’ve yield an accurate result to determine the conditions of the athletes and audiences in the stadium rather than nearby a freeway where pollution emission is high in which I termed “extreme case” (I know, a bit weird way of wording things).

Oh, and thanks for the link.
Karisu

Yes, we really need an awareness day for this stuff. ‘Cause no one has ever heard of pollution before!
http://thegoodforce.blogspot.com Yu

Learn more about Global Air Pollution:
thegoodforce.blogspot.com
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Louis

I don’t question about Beijing has bad pollution. However there is nothing for us to compare that experiment result with. I an curious to see results from a Freeway near LA, Freeway near Tokoyo, Freeway near France…etc
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Lauren

My thoughts exactly Louis. If you stand on an overpass, sucking up the air during rush hour in New York, I guarantee you’ll get at least the same amount of grime. It’s relative. Not to mention, thy need to do the test in the actual stadium. I don’t know about you, but as far as I know, [Olympic] athletes are carted to and from their events and practice. Even with the AC, they wouldn’t breath any of that particular air in (see: inside air ventilation). So, no. It’s not really a valid argument.

But it is nice to know that when stuck in traffic in Beijing, you should never roll your window down.

Air Pollution Experiment

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