Nonnoxious Abnormal: The headlines from Beijing tell a surprising tale. The emergency emission-cutting measures enacted by China´s government are succeeding -- with the help of a well-timed spell of rain followed by low humidity -- to produce an Olympic competition free of athletes suffering respiratory debilities: "China jumps Olympics air hurdle" ... "More than Halfway Through the Games, a Rarity for Beijing: A Breath of Fresh Air" ... "Beijing residents discover blue skies, stars."

 

On the other hand, there is a note of caution: "Breathe deeply; this air may not last."

 

A more significant story will be the one that unfolds after the games, when all of Beijing´s motorists get back on the road and all of the region´s temporarily shuttered factories start cranking again.

 

The first Christian Science Monitor story cited above explains the situation well:

 

The Knight Science Journalism Tracker -- a journalists’ blog that tracks science stories -- notes the paucity of coverage of Beijing’s sudden improvement, and hopes that the city’s reprieve from smog will be more than temporary:

 

"One hopes reporters who remain in Beijing in coming weeks and months will let us know whether and how fast the air reverts to its noxious normal. An object lesson in emissions controls -- and their payoff -- just might impress the citizenry and lawmakers enough to help put enforcement teeth into China’s pollution standards."

 

Breaking Fake News: TheOnion.com reports that Ex-Veep Al Gore has launched his infant son into space in a one-passenger rocket ship "in the faint hope that his only child [will] reach the safety of another world."

 

Quoth the Onion, quoting Gore: "There is nothing left now but to ensure that my infant son does not meet the same fate as the rest of my doomed race. I will send him to a new planet, where he will, I hope, be raised by simple but kindly country folk and grow up to be a hero and protector to his adopted home."

 

The Most Important Election Ever: Since we´re (sort of) on the subject of presidential-type business, I´ll close today by reminding everyone to vote in Waste News´ 2008 Presidential Election Poll. Our online ballot takes about a minute to fill out. The fate of our doomed race may rest in your hands, so please vote.

 

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

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