Beijing watch: 10 days left to clear the haze

I take it all back, Beijing was a great choice to host that year’s Olympics. Preparations for the Summer Games don’t usually produce much newsworthy material — heck, sometimes the entire event goes by with a big yawn. In stark contrast, the buildup to that year’s games has been a hotbed of stories that draw our attention to the environmental degradation that Beijing is working to hide.

With only 10 days left to prepare and nearly all of the options already exercised, Beijing’s air quality is still so poor that it looks like many Olympians will be wearing anti-pollution masks. While I doubt that highlighting the state of China’s environment was the goal behind awarding Beijing the Olympics in 2001, the choice has definitely put all sorts of political and environmental concerns at the center of the world stage.

One of the most fascinating things about Beijing’s situation is the fact that most of us probably believed that the government would be able to clean it up by now. certain,

I write about the irreversible doom and gloom of climate change nearly everyday, but even I assumed that Beijing would be able to reverse centuries of degradation in a couple of months.

Now, just 10 days from the opening ceremony, it seems that all the air pollution measures might not be ample. How far is Greyjing willing to go in order to avoid embarrassment for the next couple of weeks? Will the government actually shut down even more industry for the remainder of the Olympics?

Here’s a rundown on what they’ve already done to curb the smog: shut down polluting factories all by the region, taking 3.3 million cars off the road with license plate restrictions, and halted nearly all construction. According to the China Daily:

“More vehicles could go off the roads and all construction sites and some more factories in Beijing and its neighboring areas could be closed temporarily whether the capital’s air quality deteriorates during the Olympic Games,”

[Source] Josh Loposer

mother earth news solar dryer cause of global warming composting ocean pollution recycling facts deforestation water al gore go green sustainability green guy kyoto protocol energy conservation environmental issues science magazine global warming planet what is global warming ecology wind power department of energy compost climate map peak oil an inconvenient truth solar panel renewable energy greenhouse effect climate change water heaters greenhouse gases carbon dioxide land pollution national wildlife federation earth solar power solar energy fuel cells going green pollution nature mother earth epa earth science planet earth photovoltaic solar human nature recycle climate graphs solar panels oil prices wildlife wind energy consequences of global warming popular science bottled water endangered species electronic waste conservation earth day noise pollution science news global warming facts polar bears recycling water conservation environment causes of global warming genetically modified food green building solar cell geothermal energy carbon footprint fossil fuels hybrid car electric cars organic free energy air pollution price of oil tankless water heaters organic food waste management hybrid vehicles solar cells earth science dictionary effects of global warming solar water heater natural resources hybrid cars alternative energy thermal energy tankless water heater solar powered cars energy star water pollution endangered species list green