■"Air Pollution Is a Big Concern in Asia," by Stan Sesser, Wall Street Journal, 24 November 2004, p. B8.

Of the 20 biggest cities in Asia, only Singaporeís air is considered reasonably safe. Meanwhile, the number of ìbad airî days in other cities is skyrocketing. Last year the pollution index hit 100 or more only 53 times in Hong Kong. This year itís 79 and counting. Beijing and New Dehli suffer air considered three times worse than Hong Kongís, which mostly suffers the pollution from Guangdong province, something I remember only too well from our week there in August when I though my head was going to explode.

The locals are expected to suffer silently in the face of all that necessary development, but hereís what will push things along: foreign companies are having a harder time getting their workers to live in these cities and pollution is becoming the big reason. Frankly, I could never live in Beijing in its current state, nor would I subject my young childrenís growing lungs to it (your lungs donít stop opening up until about age 7).

Hereís what one exec said when asked why he moved away from Hong Kong with his family:

My daughter and I have been taking nasal sprays and various antihistamines for coughing and rhinitis,î an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nose, he adds. ìWeíre constantly coughing, but when we go away itís fine. Our doctor has repeatedly told us these are pollution-induced.

Asia is reaching the tipping point on big city air pollution because their cities are their showcases as they open up to the global economy, and having your showcases be unlivable is simply bad for business, so expect business to change as a resultóand soon.