no dead birds, but much-touted programs are barely under way : monster smog smothers mexico city solutions - electric air purifier

Mexico City has been divided into dry and rainy seasons over the past year.
It is now divided into very hot and not very hot. The four-
The season of heavy pollution is coming to an end.
The cold morning compressed the gray cloud of pollutants onto the floor of this overpopulated Valley ---
The breathtaking phenomenon described by novelist Carlos Fuentes as "imprisoned garbage ---
Are making it easier to stay in warmer, colder days that will disperse chemical smoke faster. By 10 a. m.
Buildings a mile away can be seen.
On January, this visibility was not available until after noon.
The good news of the previous season was that the birds did not fall from the sky as they did last year, and since the 1985 earthquake, no natural events have occurred to the residents of Mexico City, a spectacle that frightened them.
Otherwise, there is no reason ---or way--
Breathe easier. A much-
Government touted series-
The pollution control led project has just begun.
For those who can afford it, the available solutions include traveling abroad on weekends and buying electric air purifiers.
A company advertises this equipment. -
They call it "Filtron"-
By warning potential customers "the next body may be yours.
"Last month, the National Institute of Technology Engineering here announced that Mexico City is the most polluted city in the world, surpassing long-term champions such as Tokyo and Los Angeles.
Jorge Martinez Ledesma, author of the study, said: "Mexico City is a monster with a lot of emotions . ".
5 million tons Mexico government estimation every year 5 million tons of pollutants into the atmosphere from Mercury to carbon monoxide to feces dust.
As pollution levels often exceed health standards in winter, over the past two months, the government has postponed the start of school days from the traditional 8 to 8. m. to 10 a. m.
Experts hope most of the smog will dissipate later in the morning.
This effort is also a way to avoid repeated pollution hazard alerts every day that warn parents and teachers to keep teenagers indoors and not active to avoid breathing problems.
At first, there was resistance to this change.
Parents at work were forced to leave their children unattended in the morning.
The new schedule also extended traffic jams in Mexico City in the morning.
The school schedule returned to normal on Monday, but few parents asked for it to continue.
"As of February, the pollution did not stop suddenly.
"15," said Hermenegilda Gomez, mother of two primary schools --School kids
"We might as well use the later schedule throughout the year.
"The government is highly vigilant about its performance in the prevention and control of pollution.
Officials often use comments such as "we have to understand, we are just beginning" to explain the steps they are taking, or "It's hard to find that other countries do so many things like Mexico" or "pollution is not worse ";
It's just that more people are aware of this.
"According to the Ministry of Ecology and urban development, the amount of sulfur, carbon monoxide and lead in the air has declined over the past decade.
However, ministry officials say the amount of ozone hanging over Mexico City has increased dramatically, a product of the interaction between hydrocarbons and sunlight.
"Overall, we are as bad as we were 10 years ago," admitted Sergio Reyes Lujan, deputy minister of ecology of the ministry.
Government projects are characterized by high-profile announcements and very few follow-up actionsup.
A year ago, the Ministry of Environmental Protection released a list of "100 necessary actions" against pollution.
Later it said more than three of them were in place.
But after careful examination, many of the government's statements have proved exaggerated.
For example, the first project on the list promises to "apply state-of-the-art technology to reduce the pollution of new cars.
"So far, this means that the emission standards for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are about 10 times the world standard.
Controlling car pollution is considered to be the key to controlling air quality in Mexico City.
The government estimates that 80% of the city's pollution is caused by 3 million vehicles operating in the valley.
The city has a population of more than 9 million and an entire metropolitan area of more than 14 million.
The government is negotiating with automakers to introduce stricter standards next year.
"It can't be done with a magic wand," said government pollution expert Reyes Luyan . ".
Efforts to reduce automotive lead emissions have been hampered by the slow production of lead by the government oil monopoly Pemexfree gasoline.
Without adequate supply of unleaded gasoline, Mexican automakers are reluctant to equip their new models with catalytic converters that control the production of several contaminants.
The lead in gasoline neutralizes the effectiveness of the converter.
Reyes Luyan said that another success claimed by the government was the funding of workshops to inspect and repair contaminated vehicles, and nothing was achieved;
No money available.
The sport of persuading drivers to voluntarily leave their cars at home one day a week also failed.
"The people must have the will to do something," Reyes Luyan insisted . ".
"They can't think they can rely on the government.
"A 50% drop in funding shortages is clearly a problem.
The Minister of Ecology spends the same amount on anti-corruption.
This year's pollution program is the same as last year, but with inflation reducing the value of the currency by half, the end result is a 50% drop in real value.
The peso value of pollution reduction agreements with private enterprises has increased ---
However, from the actual situation, a sharp decline again.
In the face of slow growth, governments and businesses are reluctant to spend money on new equipment that does not increase production.
At the same time, the frequency of chronic diseases caused by pollution is getting higher and higher.
According to the Ministry of Health, the incidence of lung diseases, including bronchitis, swelling and asthma, increased by 25% over the previous month.
It is not uncommon to see someone suddenly shed tears while walking on the crowded roads of the city.
Even long-lived residents complained of a sudden outbreak of mild beehives.
In Mexico City, it is difficult to determine which pollutants will cause which diseases.
Not only is there too much car exhaust going into the atmosphere, but the capital also has the eighth chimney industry in the country.
Plus dust-
A series of viruses blown in from a peripheral dump, no city in the world may produce such a rich mixture of pollutants.