links for 2009-06-20

"Asia Matters for America (AMA) provides a hub for American and Asian audiences to explore the importance and impact of Asia in the United States by State and Congressional District. AMA provides government, academia, civil society, media and business with an interactive website that graphically displays useful trends and accurate data on how Asia matters at the U.S. state and local level." Via H-ASIA

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing's notoriously dirty air got cleaner during last summer's Olympic Games, but the weather played a larger role than the government's massive pollution control measures, a new report says.
The first major study on air pollution during the Olympics found that conditions in Beijing were far worse than at other recent Olympics, even with the government's cleanup campaign. Particulate levels often exceeded what the World Health Organization considers safe.

The report was published Friday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, and funded by the National Science Foundation in the U.S. and the National Science Foundation in China.