I have heard a lot of discussion lately about the possible uses for fly ash from coal-fired power plants, such as use in roads or wallboard. I have also read some literature stating that there could be some risks with using fly ash commercially, given the chemicals contained within it. As much as we have some serious environmental problems in this country, I was really taken aback by a photo I saw this morning from the Associated Press. The photo showed people on motorcycles in New Delhi, India, engulfed in what looked like a fly ash dust storm. The most gripping part of the photo was that the motorcycle at the front of the photo showed a couple with two very small children on a motorcycle together. Ironically, the man wore a helmet, while it looked like the woman and the two children did not. The woman is covering the heads of the two children to shield them from the fly ash. The photo's caption notes that the slurry containing fly ash was "channeled from the nearby Indraprastha thermal power station and is dried in open pits, but the wind carries it to adjoining areas." I was confused as to what a thermal power station has to do with fly ash, since I did not equate a thermal power station with a coal-fired power plant. In any event, it is a rather shocking photo, as there seems to be no protection for those near the plant from these fly ash particles and the chemicals contained within them. I would guess that the environmental conditions there would never be allowed in the U.S., even with our high PM 2.5 and ozone levels during some of the summer months. This photo to me represented the real price that developing nations are paying in trying to industrialize too rapidly. The U.S. really needs to step up on energy and environmental issues, particularly global warming, if it wants nations like India and China to follow suit. Judging by this photo, the health of those in major Indian cities is often being seriously compromised.