China's Latest Smog Crisis Eases — But It's Not Going Away

After a week of battling smog so thick and noxious that cars were ordered off the road in Beijing and factories temporarily idled across northern and central China, the latest air-quality crisis in China is beginning to ease. Yet no cold front can easily sweep away the underlying factors that led to it — rapid economic growth built on a foundation of an abundant supply of cheap, dirty fossil fuels, poorly regulated and heavily polluting factories and widespread urbanization

In fact, China and other developing countries, especially India, are likely to continue to see similar problems in the near future unless dramatic steps are taken to curb an array of pollutants, experts familiar with China’s environmental issues told Mashable. Read more...