Beijing's rampant pollution could be hazardous to its 2022 Olympic bid

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While Boston begins to address its push for the 2024 Summer Games after getting the U.S. Olympic Committee's blessing, the squabble continues over who will be host for the 2022 Winter Games.

With this warning: Smog in Beijing was at dangerous levels Thursday in China's capital, which is one of two sites bidding for the '22 Olympics.

Thursday's smog readings in Beijing were 20 times above safe levels as recommended by the World Health Organization, according to Bloomberg News. It should come as no surprise, as China struggles with poisonous air were problematic ahead of the 2008 Summer Games.

China's pollution is the result of largely ineffective efforts to control pollution sources, from a burgeoning automobile market to power plants that would have other countries screaming.

According to a U.S. Embassy monitor, so-called PM2.5 levels were above 450 on Thursday. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center listed the reading at 444 micrograms per cubic meter, Bloomberg reported.

Think that's bad? In 2013, the reading hit 993. That day produces an infamously called "airpocalype."

Beijing cracked down on pollution sources in a temporary clean-up for the '08 Summer Games. It is struggling to establish long-term regulations. For now, it's not safe to breathe without protection.

Considering the air quality, the International Olympic Committee might want to take a long look at its alternative site: Almaty, Kazakhstan, which although being in the middle of nowhere would at least assure safe breathing for athletes.

Not that air is the only concern: Both nations have human rights problems, and security could be troublesome in Kazakhstan.

The only certainty for 2022 at this point appears to be the dates for competition. Both Beijing and Almaty have Feb. 4-20 blocked off for Winter Games competition.

These are the Games other countries don't want, as Time.com recently noted. Beijing and Almaty are the only bidders remaining because Oslo, Stockholm, Lviv and Krakow pulled out of consideration because the Olympics cost too much.

The 2014 Winter Games were a vanity play for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, and the Sochi site was a colossal expense.

Not that the '24 Summer Games won't be expensive. As it prepares its presentation, Boston is faced with justifying money layout versus competing priorities, according to The Boston Globe. It's a delicate balancing act.

As for 2024, there's an interesting take from CityLab.com that notes Boston's advantages. It even lists the notorious Big Dig as a potential positive.

On Thursday, the IOC began its 2024 consideration by asking bidders to provide initial ideas, according to The Los Angeles Times. Its new guidelines include using existing venues in an effort to lower costs. Los Angeles is a jilted suitor for the USOC's 2024 blessing.

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