Chinese Soot Invasion

With the world's largest population and absolutely no safety standards whatsoever, it stands to reason that China would be pumping out air pollution in droves. The Chinese don't seem to mind, as they'd rather just evolve soot-cleaning lungs than go to the trouble of filtering their coal-burning power plants. But the Pacific coast of North America might have something to say about it very soon, since pollutants from China have been measured from northern California to Alaska. In addition to carbon dioxide and mercury, Chinese pollution could also carry with it viruses and bacteria that could destroy us all! Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. In fact, the National Academies of Science are urging restraint when discussing the environmental impact of China's roaming pollution. While significant, the amount of foreign pollutants measured in the U.S. is still fairly low. Plus there's the fact that literally every polluting country (which is every country) sends some of its noxious gasses over to the neighbors. And really, haven't we imported more harmful things from China than a little dusty air? More details here.