6 ms·

I wonder if there will ever be a war over something like this.

Someone 13y ago
Water, not CO2, and less of it, not more, but I think that does rate as "something like this": http://missingpeace.eu/en/2013/06/egyptian-cabinet-discuss-war-against-israel-over-nile-crisis/ http://missingpeace.eu/en/2013/06/egyptian-cabinet-discuss-w... (Ethiopia is building a hydro-electric dam; filling its lake will mean less water will flow into Egypt for a while; seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ethiopian_Renaissance_Dam#Impact_on_Sudan_and_Egypt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ethiopian_Renaissance_Dam... ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict_between_Ethiopia_and_Kenya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict_between_Ethiopia...
ktd 13y ago
Somehow I doubt full-scale military action is conducive to lowered emissions.
veidr 13y ago
Probably not any time soon, because at present that would mean going to war with China. I live in Tokyo, which is obviously a lot closer to China than the Bay Area is, and here we have PM 2.5 pollution reports on the news a lot like the regular weather report. On the worst days I throw on a 3M respirator[1] before I ride my bike across town, which makes me look like a character from some kind of post-apocalypse video game. I am glad to see articles like this, because hopefully hard numbers will provide a concrete basis for diplomatic/economic pressure to make it better. Even if the Chinese leaders are willing to pursue economic growth even at the tremendous cost of making the air in Beijing[2] so bad that (rich) kids go to preschool in pressurized tents, I don't want to have to keep my kid indoors all the way across the Sea of Japan in Tokyo -- but on the worst days, we do (on the advice of the pediatrician). (In that sense, I am selfishly glad it is reaching the US west coast -- because the US has a lot more leverage to influence China's behavior than does Japan.) [1]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NDN29O/ref=s9_qpp_gw_p60_d99_ir01?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-7&pf_rd_r=14A8GFPJBK6C2ESC1XQH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938451&pf_rd_i=507846 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NDN29O/ref=s9_qpp_gw_p6... [2]: https://www.google.com/search?q=beijing+air&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=NWIUUsuKLo2rkgW1wIDYBg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=914&bih=778 https://www.google.com/search?q=beijing+air&client=safari&rl...
- rdl 13y ago
  I wonder if this will raise the value of land in Western China (or west of China), out of the pollution stream.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    Even Kunming has pollution that is considered bad (though much better than east China). I don't think the environment gets much better in Kazakhstan, they are still industrializing. Once you hit Iran, it is almost as bad as China.

Water, not CO2, and less of it, not more, but I think that does rate as "something like this": http://missingpeace.eu/en/2013/06/egyptian-cabinet-discuss-war-against-israel-over-nile-crisis/ http://missingpeace.eu/en/2013/06/egyptian-cabinet-discuss-w... (Ethiopia is building a hydro-electric dam; filling its lake will mean less water will flow into Egypt for a while; seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ethiopian_Renaissance_Dam#Impact_on_Sudan_and_Egypt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ethiopian_Renaissance_Dam... ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict_between_Ethiopia_and_Kenya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_conflict_between_Ethiopia...

ktd 13y ago

Somehow I doubt full-scale military action is conducive to lowered emissions.

veidr 13y ago

Probably not any time soon, because at present that would mean going to war with China. I live in Tokyo, which is obviously a lot closer to China than the Bay Area is, and here we have PM 2.5 pollution reports on the news a lot like the regular weather report. On the worst days I throw on a 3M respirator[1] before I ride my bike across town, which makes me look like a character from some kind of post-apocalypse video game. I am glad to see articles like this, because hopefully hard numbers will provide a concrete basis for diplomatic/economic pressure to make it better. Even if the Chinese leaders are willing to pursue economic growth even at the tremendous cost of making the air in Beijing[2] so bad that (rich) kids go to preschool in pressurized tents, I don't want to have to keep my kid indoors all the way across the Sea of Japan in Tokyo -- but on the worst days, we do (on the advice of the pediatrician). (In that sense, I am selfishly glad it is reaching the US west coast -- because the US has a lot more leverage to influence China's behavior than does Japan.) [1]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NDN29O/ref=s9_qpp_gw_p60_d99_ir01?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-7&pf_rd_r=14A8GFPJBK6C2ESC1XQH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938451&pf_rd_i=507846 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NDN29O/ref=s9_qpp_gw_p6... [2]: https://www.google.com/search?q=beijing+air&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=NWIUUsuKLo2rkgW1wIDYBg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=914&bih=778 https://www.google.com/search?q=beijing+air&client=safari&rl...

rdl 13y ago
I wonder if this will raise the value of land in Western China (or west of China), out of the pollution stream.
- seanmcdirmid 13y ago
  Even Kunming has pollution that is considered bad (though much better than east China). I don't think the environment gets much better in Kazakhstan, they are still industrializing. Once you hit Iran, it is almost as bad as China.