Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumBeijing's Air Quality So Bad It's Changing Architecture; Airlocks And Bubbles Proliferate
The scene could be straight from a science-fiction film: a vision of everyday life, but with one jarring difference that makes you realise youre on another planet, or in a distant future era. A sports class is in full swing on the outskirts of Beijing. Herds of children charge after a football on an artificial pitch, criss-crossed with colourful markings and illuminated in high definition by the glare of bright white floodlights. It all seems normal enough except for the fact that this familiar playground scene is taking place beneath a gigantic inflatable dome.
Its a bit of a change having to go through an airlock on the way to class, says Travis Washko, director of sports at the British School of Beijing. But the kids love it, and parents can now rest assured their children are playing in a safe environment. The reason for the dome becomes apparent when you step outside. A grey blanket hangs in the sky, swamping the surroundings in a de-saturated haze and almost obscuring the buildings across the street. A red flag hangs above the schools main entrance to warn its a no-go day: stay indoors at all costs. The airpocalypse has arrived.
EDIT
Pollution is what all the parents are talking about, says Nicole Washko, Traviss wife, who also works at the school where their two daughters go, too. More and more ex-pat families are leaving this country for the sake of their kids health. So if all the other schools have a dome, then weve got to have a dome. A non-toxic learning environment is perhaps the least parents might expect, when theyre paying £20,000-a-year fees.
The British School has recently undergone a complete filtration overhaul, as if preparing for atmospheric armageddon, with new air curtains installed above the doors and almost 200 ceiling-mounted air purifiers put in to complement the floor-standing kind in each classroom. Windows must remain closed, and pupils must adhere to the strict air safety code. Reception classes stay indoors when the air quality index (AQI) hits 180 measured on an official scale of 500 by various sensors across the city. For primary kids the limit is 200, while the eldest students are allowed to brave the elements up to 250. Anything above 300 and school trips are called off. The World Health Organisation, meanwhile, recommends a safe exposure level of 25.
EDIT
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/16/beijing-airpocalypse-city-almost-uninhabitable-pollution-china
global1
(25,285 posts)The Koch money will have bought environmental cut-backs and make it easier for the Koch's and their ilk to pollute. So we can't be far behind China.
There are plenty of clues in the OP here to tell us the types of companies we need to invest our money in - air curtains, ceiling mounted and floor standing air purifiers, airlocks, inflatable domes, artificial turf, etc.
If we're gonna die of lung cancer - we might as well die rich.