New York Times (May 6)
Brazil has failed to clean up “the highly polluted waters of Guanabara Bay and off nearby Copacabana Beach” where athletes will be asked to compete in water with “virus levels 1.7 million times what would be considered hazardous at a California beach.” Brazil had pledged to build eight water treatment plants to halt the daily flood of raw sewage into the bay, but only one has been built. With less than 100 days to the Rio Olympics, no more will be built. “Brazil’s chief of security for the Games and the sports minister have recently resigned, and the president, Dilma Rousseff, is facing impeachment.” The only remaining solution is to move the aquatic events “to safe, clean waters” even if that means transferring them to another country.
Tags: Athletes, Brazil, Copacabana, Guanabara Bay, Hazardous, Impeachment, Polluted, Raw sewage, Rio Olympics, Rousseff, Treatment plants, Virus levels, Water
New York Times (January 13)
Beijing’s notorious air pollution hit a new low on Saturday. First the background. The Air Quality Index of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranges from 0-500, with levels between 301 to 500 considered hazardous for all outdoor activity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a score of 500 indicates over 20 times the safe level of particulate matter. Beijing’s new record in dirty air left some speechless. “What phrase is appropriate to describe Saturday’s jaw-dropping reading of 755 at 8 p.m., when all of Beijing looked like an airport smokers’ lounge?”
Tags: Air pollution, Air Quality Index, Beijing, EPA, Hazardous, Particulate matter, WHO
