Well, I was never really a believer in the Chinese’s ability to pull off a “green” Olympics in Beijing this summer.  I have plenty else to complain about with China, but we’ll leave it at this for the moment.  From the time that China was granted the 2008 games, the world was watching to ensure that they did clean up their act.  And they didn’t.  Now, even though they conquered the algae bloom, they appear to be unable to deliver the quality of air that the Olympic athletes have been counting on.  With only three days until the Games open, the haze that has blanketed Beijing for so many years does not appear to be going anywhere.

This really doesn’t surprise me.  China’s main strategy in preventing the haze focused mainly on taking cars of the road and limiting the hours local factories can work.  But Beijing’s air problem is not local.  The particulate matter that has been one of the most worrisome sources of pollution for athletes still measures high.  The BBC reports that on Monday, levels of particulate matter in Beijing’s air were six times above their recommended level.  In fact, the BBC has a very thorough look at the levels of particulate matter in Beijing’s air over the past month.  Yesterday, the amount spiked rapidly compared to Sunday, when the skies looked like they were clearing.

I’ll probably give China’s supposed solutions to their air pollution for the Games a close look later.  For now, just registering my formal prediction that the quality of air in Beijing will continue to haunt China during and after the Games.  After all, Beijing was considered to be the twelfth most polluted city in the world, according to a 2004 World Bank study.  And China has only become more of a polluter in the four years since.