ShogunRua wrote:Not really a surprise; most Asian countries worry very little about pollution or air quality. There is a reason many wear surgical masks when walking outside.
As for why you didn't know that the US is actually quite good in that regard, it's because it doesn't fit the dominant ideological narrative, and there is nothing to be gained by it. With a very strong liberal environmental movement constantly claiming that those "evil corporations" are destroying every aspect of the environment, admitting that US cities are actually superior in terms of air quality would add a level of balance to the discussion that they're not interested in.
By the way, as someone who suffers from absolutely horrid allergies and feels air quality very acutely, I can say that the 5 years I lived in LA County, the air was quite clean and healthy. Certainly, LA County and the Bay Area are an enormous improvement in that regard to Moscow, where I was born.
Yeah, I knew it was there, I just didn't know the extent of the difference. According to former left-wing director David Mamet, there are a lot of closet right-wing directors in Hollywood, at least on political and economic issues--because they have to deal with the realities of those issues when making a movie; while the actors can ride limos and Learjets to their fortified castles in the sky--and think nothing of it....or of anything.