Say what you will about China and its pollution, it&#x27;s an interesting attempt at a solution.[1] Could you imagine something like that implemented easily in the US before caught within lawyer-string nets of liability?<p>China has many problems, but many HN readers bashing China have probably never set foot there and are formulating their understanding based off of western media and the socioeconomic + cultural dynamics of Chinese diaspora communities in the west (working in low-paying jobs, less seen as literary&#x2F;communicative thanks to language barriers).<p>I&#x27;m not Chinese nor do I have a particular stake, but I was there for three weeks this summer and was overwhelmed by a kind of social optimism - the shared assumption that services are getting better, progress will happen, and a relentless cycle of innovation (in China&#x27;s own way; see &#x27;Shanzai&#x27;).<p>All this is to say that - pollution sucks. China needs to get its shit together and pass clean air laws. But these devices are emblematic of a very Chinese mode of progress and innovation that I&#x27;m not quite describing properly.<p>[1] Yes, I know the technology is not completely new, and controlling particulates by deploying other media is common - when polishing&#x2F;concrete, for example.