Once more on the bandwagon

Seoul's Air Pollution Worst Among OECD Members

Seoul’s air pollution is the worst among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Environment Ministry said yesterday.

The capital’s particulate matter (PM), which can cause various respiratory problems, was measured at 71 micrograms per cubic meter at the end of 2001, the ministry said.

Now this data was from 2001. I've Googled and used other search engines to try to find something more recent, but 2001 is the only thing that comes up. I find it hard to believe that no one is doing research now (Well, actually, it's not that hard to believe.). 71 micrograms in 2001 - although I can't prove it, I think that the air is worse now than it was when I came 3 years ago. Bangkok has 43 micrograms.

I thought about this again because I've just returned from Bangkok, and this morning I read this article (Bangkok's template for an air-quality turnaround) in the International Herald Tribune. While Bangkok still has the pollution that one would expect in a city of 10 million, it is a 100 times fresher than Seoul, a city of about 12 million. Now, I know that there are some environmental differences that make some difference in pollution levels, but Bangkok has nowhere near the level of public transport that Seoul has. Seoul has an excellent subway system that spreads like a spider web throughout Seoul. It also has an extensive bus system. However, the number of SUV's and other large private cars in Seoul far outnumbers the number in Bangkok. The streets in Bangkok are orderly and seem less crowded. In Seoul, traffic jams often leave tens of thousands of cars idling on the roads.

I know that some of the air pollution blows in from China and there is little that Korea can do about that. But, most of the problem is vehiclular (in my humble opinion).

Perhaps it's time that Seoul looks at the model that Bangkok provides. Unfortunately, every time I talk to my Korean friends about this, they just give me a blank look as though they don't know what I'm talking about. "Air pollution? In Seoul? Really?" If the people don't care, the politicians won't.