Author: 
By Graham Dabbs and Caroline Gunter
Some people hold a stereotype that China is a dirty and polluted country. I decided to investigate this and find out about Chinese air pollution. The first thing you have to understand about air pollution is how it is measured. Pollution levels are measured using the air quality index or AQI. This takes into consideration particulate size as well as concentration in the air. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s the reading outside of Beijing Embassy was seven hundred and fifty five. To put this into perspective a reading about three hundred and one is considered an extremely hazardous emergency situation. This means the particles in the air are large enough to “travel down into the lungs and bloodstream and potentially cause severe damage in the organs” (World Affairs Journal). This air pollution also has a cultural impact. According to online chinese retailer (taobao.com) the word “mask” was searched 5,300% more than usual. There was also an increase in the air purifiers business. This indicates not only that the Chinese people were aware of the problem, but also interested in fixing the issue. But the real question is what action is the Chinese government taking to bring awareness to and correct the problem? “in 2012, in response to growing public pressure, Beijing started to regularly monitor and publish its own AQI readings for air around the country. Now there are more than eighty monitoring systems in place in China’s major cities and this year, for the first time, officials issued emergency warnings and allowed pollution to be covered on state-run television.” (World Affairs Journal). As you can see, the air pollution in China is at a dangerous levels, but with the growing environmental movement people are becoming aware and working for a change.