"SHANGHAI — I arrived here on Oct. 19th and was greeted with this news: A combination of cold weather, lack of wind, coal-powered heating and farmers burning off post-harvest debris had created a perfect storm of pollution in the northeastern industrial city of Harbin, home to 10 million people. It was so bad that bus drivers were getting lost because the smog-enveloped roads would only permit them to see a few yards ahead. Harbin’s official website reportedly warned that 'cars with headlights turned on were moving no faster than pedestrians and honking frequently as drivers struggled to see traffic lights meters away.'"
In case you've forgotten, this is the same Thomas Friedman who infamously fantasized, "what if we could just be China for a day?" (see: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/199750/its-he-does-it-purpose/jonah-goldberg).
Of course, China has more than just an air quality problem, and it would be nice if Friedman were also to mention that China leads the world in executions, but I suppose that would be testing the friendship of his hosts.
Enough said.
Collins is joining the Pulitzer Prize Committee. Something tells me that more prizes are coming the NYT way.
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