29 July 2008

Beijing


Flying a kite in Tiananmen Square in the heavy pollution, from the IHT.

And what does this tell you?
Faced with the prospect of dangerously high levels of air pollution during the Games, International Olympic Committee officials have warned that competition in endurance sports, such as the marathon and long-distance cycling, might be postponed or even canceled. The world’s fastest marathon runner, Haile Gebrselassie, has already withdrawn from the Olympic race for fear that air pollution might permanently damage his health. Many athletes are planning to take precautions, such as arriving in Beijing as late as possible, coming well equipped with medication for possible asthma attacks, and wearing masks once there.
- From China’s Olympic Nightmare by Elizabeth C. Economy and Adam Segal in Foreign Affairs.

Here's more from the WSJ.

Beijing, tighten up.

2 comments:

The Becca said...

I missed you, Matt.

Pepper said...

Matt, this is obviously a photograph of a snowstorm in Beijing. In July.

Now who needs to tighten up?