World's dirtiest cities

[Vincent]

Old news, but I can't remember we had it here:

World's dirtiest cities
Dirtiest cities just get dirtier

Robert Malone, Forbes.com
March 21, 2007

Chernobyl, Ukraine
Dzerzinsk, Russia
Haina, Dominican republic
Kabwe, Zambia
La Oroya, Peru
Linfen, China
Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan
Norlisk, Russia
Ranipet, India
Rudnaya Pristan, Russia

See this: In Pictures: World's Dirtiest Cities - Forbes.com

The world has to face the fact that dirt costs, and dirty cities cost big time. Today over half the world lives in urban as opposed to rural environments. This means ever more concentrated dirt.

Urban environments create their own ambiance. The dirty cities are where air pollution, water pollution, ground pollution and open landfill problems are out of control. To these less-than-glorious conditions there may be added in some cities mercury or lead poisoning, radiation poisoning or other severe risks.

Part of dirt is garbage. In the state of New Jersey, every person throws away their own body weight every seven weeks. But garbage is complex dirt, since it may be recycled and act as a source for materials and money for the recycler. Garbage out of control is either uncollected rubbish or badly disseminated landfill. Garbage out of control leads to ground pollution, air pollution and water pollution.

The relationship between traffic pollution and garbage pollution could use some intense study worldwide since these two sources, combined with industrial waste and energy generation, comprise the core of urban dirt.

Take batteries - which the world uses in ever greater numbers. Each contains heavy metals, and their incineration can cause toxic air pollution. Coal, the mainstay of China's Great Leap Forward, is the nastiest energy source when it comes to air pollution. Choices have to be made in tradeoffs of economics and health since not every energy source can be clean and cheap.

Despite dirt's economic and environmental costs, governments have been slow in keeping track of just how dirty the world is. The U.S. and some European cities and countries have more data than dozens of other countries and hundreds of cities that don't really know how dirty they are at all.

To clean up, the first order of business will be to find the dirt and record it. Such agencies as the United Nations statistics division are overtaxed and, as a result, often out of date. Others, like the Blacksmith Institute, an organization that does global studies of city pollution, and the American Lung Association, appear to be making some headway.

"The good news is we have known technologies for eliminating a lot of this pollution," says Richard Fuller, founder and director of the Blacksmith Institute, which in addition to its global studies of the most polluted cities also makes recommendations for their cleanup.

The Blacksmith Institute's 2006 report states that, "living in a town with serious pollution is like living under a death sentence. If the damage does not come from the immediate poisoning, then cancers, lung infections, mental retardation are likely the outcomes."

Of the 10 most polluted cities according to the Blacksmith Institute report, three are in the Russian Federation. The Ukraine's Chernobyl remains at the top of the list 20 years after the horrendous nuclear accident there.

When the focus is U.S. cities, the American Lung Association's latest report for 2005 states that 55% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. It appears that U.S. citizens do not have to visit Russia or China to get a lungful of bad air.

Some hope that the U.S. EPA's new, stricter emissions standards - put in place in December 2006 as outlined in the Clean Air Interstate Rule - will make a difference, at least in the U.S.

World\'s dirtiest cities - Savings & Debt Insight - Sympatico / MSN Finance

[Señor Malo]

None of the cities over the Ganges River? I was expecting to find at least one in the list

On the other side I amussed myself searching the cleanest one and guess..........?
It seems that our little Sussi must be a maniac of tidiness

1- Calgary, Can
2- Honolulu, Hawai Us
3- Helsinki, Finland
4- Ottawa, Can
5- Minneapolis, Minnesotta US
6- Oslo, Norway
7- Stockholm, Sweden (tie 6)
8- Zurich, Swiss (tie 6)
9- Katsuyama, Jap
10-Bern, Swiss (tie 9)
11-Montreal, Can
12-Vancouver, Can (tie 10)
13-Boston, Us (tie 10)
14-Lexington, Ky US (tie 10)
15-Pittsbourg, Pennsylvania Us (tie 10)
16-Nürnberg, DE (tie 10)
17-Geneva, Swiss (tie 10)
18-Aukland, NZ
19-Wellington, NZ (tie 18)
20-Dublin, Eire
21-Amsterdam, NL (tie 20)
22-Toronto, Can (Hey Sussi! what's your favourite passtime? going around Canada cleaning what ever passes accross your way?? J/K)
23-Lyon (could not be in other way as is A town where no Stirpes member inhabits J/K)
24-Copenhagen, DK
25-Kobe, JP
26-Omuta, JP (tie 25)

[Susi]

Well Canada is pretty big but there are so few people so it's easy to keep tidy.

But Calgary is so boring. It's the Denmark of Canada.

And I'm from the dirtiest city in the province (I can't say country, look at Sydney, NS and its coal tar lying around in fields.. anyways). We have steel plants, and a lot of heavy industry around. My boyfriend lives near one of the plants. Very good for his asthma.

And why is Chernobyl even on the list? No one (sorry, barely anyone) lives there anymore anyways.

[Lucas Corso]

Dont' forget Naples!!!

[Blood Axis]

Athens should, unfortunately, be rising to the top of that list

A friend was reading some statistics that placed it to the top of Europe (dirtiest), followed by Bucharest and Tirana.

It used to be such a beautiful city... But its population has sky rocketed so abruptly due to the influx of immigrants (whose views on hygiene are rather...loose) that it has turned into one big smogy pile of garbage.

Add the provocative indifference of the authorities, and the totally chaotic and disorganized cleaning services (garbage men are on strike every second day), and you have such a fine mess

[Ricardo Reis]

Stop whining about Greece-Greeks in every single thread, you old maid you.

[Blood Axis]

I am a woman. A greek woman. Whining is my nature.

[Strengthandhonour]

I am surpried to not see Mexico City there.
But anyways, out of those cities the only one I have visited is Lima, Peru.
It was disgusting. It was like visiting a 100% realistic mad mad meets terminator theme park. It gave me headaches to breathe. the smog was sickening.

[Errigal]

Susi's right about Chernobyl, they can't have many people throwing candy wrappers onto the pavement.

The cleanest city I've ever seen was Monte Carlo but that is a special case. Also it was two days before the running of the Grand Prix so it may have had special treatment.

[Susi]

The two cleanest cities I've been to in recent memory:

Ljubjana and Tokyo.

[Lucas Corso]

Originally Posted by Susi

The two cleanest cities I've been to in recent memory:

Ljubjana and Tokyo.

I'm in Ljubljana quite often and i can only agree...

[kyashan]

Originally Posted by Blood Axis

I am a woman. A greek woman. Whining is my nature.

Blaxis do you have any pics of you dressed up in peplum like the goddess Athena?

Dont' forget Naples!!!

most likely Naples would top a list of the Western Europe's dirtiest cities.

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by Kyashan

Blaxis do you have any pics of you dressed up in peplum like the goddess Athena?

Just browse the internet, you might find some in a lavatory.

Marseilles is dirty.

[Theobald]

Originally Posted by Carnyx

Marseilles is dirty.

True. The dirtiest French city I visited was probably Sète (near Montpellier) though. I was only 12 or 13 years old but I still remember how it was awful...
Also, I'm quite surprised to see that Lyon is the cleanest French city, before Strasbourg.

[Carnyx]

Originally Posted by Theobald

True. The dirtiest French city I visited was probably Sète (near Montpellier) though. I was only 12 or 13 years old but I still remember how it was awful...
Also, I'm quite surprised to see that Lyon is the cleanest French city, before Strasbourg.

In all fairness... the South is rather dirty. Alsace is much much cleaner.

[Errigal]

Worse than a city with rubbish in the streets is a city or town that is clearly in decline. For example the train station only has one platform operating and the other four have weeds growing through the pavement, or the old department store has closed some of its floors to the public and only sells cheap goods. That is much more depressing.