by Jessica Reed
The Globe and Mail's Geoffrey York and photographer Natalie Behring visited the world's most polluted city. Linfen, China is in the heart of the country's biggest coal-producing region. The pictures of commuters trying to escape pollution by wearing cotton masks are spine-chilling: as Tork says, they're merely an illusionary barrier against fumes, as the city's hospitals are packed with patients suffering from respiratory diseases. Coal provides 70% of China's energy; by 2009 China will be the biggest producer of carbon dioxide.
Picture via limlin's flickR account.
