Starseeker said:lol, how is this unusual?
Beijing is like that most of the time, especially during fall season when the sand/polluted dust storms sweeps the city in a multicolored haze.
And its not supposed to be that way. China is walking in America's footsteps. You can not hope to rape the land and not pay the price can you?
Many years ago America recorded the largest dust storms in human history. Farming and livestock grazing had taken its toll on the Midwest farm region. Without plants to absorb heat the earth began to absorb and radiate it. Temperatures soared, other plants started to die. Heat wave after heat wave hit until there was nothing but dirt left. Then the winds started to pick up the top soil and just like that, a slow painful way to die was in the air. The soil contained very fine glass like dust particulates that began filling everything (including peoples organs). People started dieing, people fled to other parts of the country where they lived out a dismal existence where many starved and died of disease.
These storms went on for years, since America was in the middle of its largest economic depression it was felt that nothing could be done about the storms. Prior to the FDR administration it was thought that the cost to fix such a thing was too great and would put the country into more of a downward spiral (Just remember kids, if you have a massive cut on an artery, just bleed out because the cost to fix is too much). The actual death toll and those that were displaced as a result of these massive storms are not known.
Eventually the US congress was convinced to address this issue by an adviser to FDR, Hugh Hammond Bennett (Big Hugh). Whom was addressing congress when he was told that the largest dust storm in human history had traveled all the way from the Midwest to Washington D.C. (roughly 2500km). He kept congress busy while he had the floor and then, on queue, the windows turned black, and as the congressmen pensively looked outside Hugh said, "This is what I've been talking about gentlemen, look! *points to sky* there goes Kansas!"
After DC was blackened by a dust storm roughly a mile high congress gave Big Hugh the funds needed to start a soil conservation directive that he had conjured up and asked for nearly 20 years ago. Some of the most amazing soil conservation ideas were put into effect that were almost beyond the times. Crops were planted and harvested in accordance with the wind to prevent it from picking up the soil. A massive greenbelt was planted from Canada to Mexico to solidify the ground through the grasslands of the US. Cattle that were dieing as a result of starvation and dust inhalation were purchased by the government slaughtered and used to feed the starving populous.
After the massive government works projects to restore the land they effectively reduced the dust in the air but, the rain did not come until the late 30's early 40's. Overlooked at the time, its believed the reason for the lack of rain was due to the lack of ground vegetation which would absorb moisture and release it gaseous form creating rain clouds.
So Starseeker, given the above, if China continues turning millions of acres of land into desert every year, what do you think the likely outcome would be?
I'm not certain what is causing the dust storms down under; however, I assume the dust storms are blowing in from the Outback where a similar unsettled topsoil containing high deposits of iron is exposed to the wind. Australia has had so many ecological plagues over the years I would understand hesitation to do anything to that exposed patch of land... Then again, if you don't do anything...
video footage of the storm:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw...uctive-dust-storms-in-1930s-america-video.htm
sources:
http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_02.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl
