[Fat Charlie]

Middle East conflict drastically 'improves air quality'

Researchers say that in countries like Syria and Iraq, levels of air pollutants have fallen dramatically.
The amount of nitrogen dioxide in the air over Damascus has fallen by up to 50% since start of the civil war.
The authors believe their work has important lessons for projections of global emissions.

"We don't want to talk about 'benefits' for people in Syria, but in fact it has improved air quality - yes, that's for sure."
-Dr Jos Lelieveld, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry

Now we aren't limited to just exporting freedom and democracy, we can threaten to improve air quality around the world.