My imagination has been running wild vividly envisioning the duel of two super-heroes, the clash of an irresistible force against an immovable force, like Superman versus a black hole. Well, that was just to help you get a sense of magnitude for my real query, wondering which city has worse air pollution: Mexico City or Kathmandu. Without getting into an ecological study I imagine that both cities could compete well for the title. Mexico city is considered to be among the world’s worst cities for air pollution because of its location surrounded by tall mountains. Its position locks in all the smog, fire and dust from the city and perpetually keeps the skies in Mexico city a thick brown haze. I believe the conditions would be the same if the perimeter of Kathmandu were also lined with inescapable mountain passes.

Yesterday I got started talking about the news media in Nepal. I’m sure you can draw the same conclusion that the transparency and freedom of the press are things we can’t take for granted and the people of Nepal should be diligent to keep them growing. I’d like to point out some of the online news resources for reporting from Nepal. Other than the countless blog entries from free-spirited hikers who pass through the established sight-seeing trails (myself included) there are a few active news sites published from Nepal that give its citizens and the world outside an update on daily matters. Of course there is a lot of debate and criticism of conditions in the country in the villages and city centers, but people generally feel they need to watch their backs for the wrong ears hearing their critical opinions. English language news organizations within Nepal are closely monitored and somewhat constricted by the political administration, but there are also some news agencies reporting from outside the country’s borders that take an interest in Nepal’s issues.