Wind sweeping across the Pacific Ocean from China causes up to 25% of the sulfate pollution some days on the west coast of the United States, according to the first definitive study on migration China’s dirty air. While domestic air pollution is still the main culprit, China’s contaminates add an extra day a year of air quality advisory for Los Angeles. This study cuts to the heart of the problem of managing common pool resources. Countries and individuals are unwilling to share the benefits of environmental investments, and yet very willing to share the public health risks that come environmentally harmful practices. Even if the U.S. cleans up its act, the West Coast will still breathe some of China’s polluted air. Furthermore, inevitably some of the newly clean American air would spread to other countries, free of charge. When everyone thinks they have a right to use without the duty to restore, our common resources, like air, are destroyed.
Air pollution spikes during a high school water polo game in Fresno, CA. (Sasha Khokha/KQED)