Air Problems Persist in Beijing: Athletes Are Going to Have Problems

The Chinese government waited too long to start cutting pollution to improve air quality for the Olympics, and with the Opening Ceremonies set for tomorrow, many athletes are going to have problems.

I'm afraid that our athletes will come back from China with major health problems.

I hope that if air conditions are bad, they cancel some of the distance events and not bow to Chinese pressure to run the events regardless of what's in the air and how bad it gets. It's the responsible thing to do. Hopefully any air problems our athletes encounter will be minor and they won't develop lung conditions that will have to be dealt with in the months and years after the Beijing Games.

We're seeing the downside of heavy industrialization playing out before our eyes.