While the United States has reaped some of the benefits of outsourcing -- cheaper cellphones, televisions and appliances and big declines in air pollution -- rising emissions in China have paralyzed cities there with severe smog.
– Outsourcing dirty emissions-producing industries to China hasn't improved America's air as much as some might think, a new study finds. Researchers say some of the rising emissions from the manufacturing of China's exports—many of which go to America—are making their way across the Pacific, sometimes pushing smog standards above federal health levels in Los Angeles and even in parts of the eastern US, reports the LA Times. The study shows that American demand for cheap exports can still cause environmental problems at home, one of its authors says. "It’s sort of a boomerang effect," he says. "We need to move beyond placing blame for who’s creating these emissions and realize that we all have a common interest in reducing the pollution." In China, meanwhile, the smog problem has become so dire that a scientist has come up with a plan to clean city air with giant sprinklers attached to skyscrapers, Gizmodo reports. (Though one China paper has argued the smog is good for national security.)