Source: How to Survive China’s Pollution Problem: Masks and Bubbles | Design Decoded.

Last January, air pollution reached new levels of toxicity in China. Just how bad did things get? According to the Chinese Air Quality Index (AQI), measurements of particulate matter in the air reached more than 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter the northeastern part of country. That probably doesn’t mean anything to you without context though, so here it is: anything above 300 is considered “hazardous” and citizens are warned that they “may experience more serious health effects.” For even more context, consider that the U.S. AQI only goes up to 500. Air quality in China is a constant concern and while the recent toxic cloud has dissipated for now, a number of businesses are creating new ways to battle pollution at every scale – from personal designer face masks to inflatable architecture.

Given that so many in this country refuse to believe in global warming (otherwise known as “don’t confuse me with the facts”) could this the a look at the future?  Will we as a world tip over the edge of being able to correct another of our problems we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge?  Will we end up having to put domes over our cities in order to filter air enough to make it breathable?

I am a big fan of SciFi movies and the one on this topic was called Soylent Green. It starred Charlton Heston, whose movies I now boycott due to his gun stands, so I haven’t seen it for several years now. Of course there are also several others in this genre including all the Mad Max movies are some of them. One reason I like scifi movies is they look at scenarios that are unlikely by still possible.  Will the pollutions of the 21st century finally tip the scales?

Given that the only superpower government currently  is in total gridlock the gloom and doom scenario seems more likely than ever.  Let’s hope that some grown-ups can take control of our government before it is too late. Let’s get rid of all those yahoos in there now and start with a fresh batch before it is too late.

I may be a scifi guy but I am also a simple guy so what do I know….