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US State Department Kills Global Air Monitoring Program Researchers Say Paid for Itself
The initiative helped pressure the Chinese government to clean up the air in Beijing and was later expanded to dozens of cities around the world. Now, it’s been abruptly halted.
The former webpage has been made unavailable; the app showed that at least half a dozen embassies stopped reporting regular data in the middle of Tuesday before the function was completely disabled on Wednesday, according to tests performed by WIRED. The program demonstrated how relatively low-cost information technologies could be used to spur substantial reductions of air pollution, says Akshaya Jha, an assistant professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University who co-authored the 2022 study. In the long run, Jha’s research also found that the program actually saves money for the State Department, which is required to pay diplomats extra compensation for living in more hazardous environments.
Or read this on Wired