Shanghai Suffers Record-high Levels of Air Pollution

This chilling article on the record-high air pollution levels in Shanghai reminds me of the conversation I had yesterday with agriculture maven Mary Blackmon about the rising rates of cancer, and the fact that there must be a cause based on something we’re ingesting.  Is it possible to look at the photograph in the article (a smaller version of which appears to the left) and think that such conditions could conceivably be safe for the people who live there? 

The picture depicts Shanghai’s concentration of tiny, harmful PM (particulate matter) 2.5 particles that reached 602.5 micrograms per cubic meter Friday afternoon, an extremely hazardous level.  In fact, it’s the highest since the city began recording such data last December — over 24 times the World Health Organization’s safety guideline, which is 25 micrograms.

As I mentioned yesterday, the coal industry is having a fit about renewables and natural gas, but coal is killing us at an ever-increasing rate.  I believe we simply have to tell these people to take a hike.