Yellow dust from the Gobi

Yesterday the skies over Seoul turned dark and grey, since the wind was blowing in from China. In the spring it brings one of the least appreciated imports from the Middle Kingdom: fine, yellow dust from the Gobi desert. It covers cars and streets alike until the rain finally sweeps it into the Han river and people breathe again. Not that the air in Seoul is anything to write home about, even without yellow dust.
Seoul's real air-quality problem is the cars. And instead of really doing something about that, like a comprehensive toll system to keep traffic down, the mayor is pursuing far more flashy election-year schemes, like the recently announced mono-rail for southern Seoul.
The investment for the project is in the range of 200 billion won ($205 million), and for that Seoul will get a monorail that will wind through affluent business neighbourhoods south of the Han. The trains will run on a track five meters above ground, and stop at 10 stations on the 6.7-kilometer route. It will be ready for boarding in 2008.
Cars now move at an average of 14.3 kilometers per hour on Kangnam's roads during rush hour. Maybe the officials should study the outcome of Stockholm's recent experiment with tolls, that reduced the number of cars in the inner city by 20 to 25 percent (while generating millions to the city). Since Seoul already has an excellent public transport system, such a system undoubtedly would get cars off the streets and people into the subways. The few tunnel-tolls that Seoul has today does not affect traffic much.
Then again, to do something about the yellow dust we probably would have to start replanting the trees in China and Mongolia.