Air Quality Data Going Nowhere

Out of all the chaotic evil being done by Musk and Trump these days, I think this story hit me hardest when I read it in the my local paper this morning: Scientists raise concerns as the US stops sharing air quality data from embassies worldwide.

It's one of those things our government has been doing that I didn't even know about that made the world a better place. We used our embassies and consulates around the world as sites for air-monitoring equipment, and made the data freely available. 

It was received as unbiased and scientific by people in the areas, and sometimes was the only source of that kind of data because setting up and monitoring the equipment costs money, which poorer countries do not have.

The U.S. does have the money, however, despite Trump's ridiculous cries of poverty, as he demands hundreds of thousands of dollars for flattering Department of Homeland Security ads and squanders funds in a multitude of other ways. 

In China...data from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing famously contradicted official government reports, showing worse pollution levels than authorities acknowledged. It led to China improving air quality.

But get this, it's not that the data will not be collected at our embassies around globe: oh, no — the monitors are being left in place. It's just that it will not be transmitted to the EPA's AirNow app. 

The stop in sharing data was “due to funding constraints that have caused the Department to turn off the underlying network,” read the statement, which added that embassies and consulates were directed to keep their monitors running and the sharing of data could resume in the future if funded was restored. The fiscal cut, first reported by the New York Times, is one of many under President Donald Trump, whose administration has been deprioritizing environmental and climate initiatives. 

The monitors measure fine particulate matter (PM2.5). That's the stuff that goes really far into human lungs and kills around 7 million people each year, according to the WHO. So now people around the world will have one less source of information about what's happening as they try to deal with that health scourge, thanks to Trump.

How much money does it cost to maintain this data-sharing network that was already set up and running? I bet it's not much, especially compared to the cost of those monitors sitting at embassies all over the world, collecting data for no reason.