China Races To Clean Up Olympic Air

Hugh Pickens writes "With the Olympics due to start in less than three weeks, Beijing is cranking up antipollution measures by yanking cars off the roads, expanding mass transit and staggering work hours in a bid to meet its pledge of a 'green' Olympics. Beijing has gone on a spending spree, relocating factories, seeding clouds, retiring old vehicles, planting millions of trees and halting building construction amid concerns that athletes and visitors could suffer breathing problems. For the next two months, owners of 3.3 million private cars can drive only on alternate days in China's capital, based on whether the last digit of their license plates is even or odd. Environmental and sports performance experts have cast doubt on the effectiveness of the measures taken so far. 'Arguably these are all short-term measures, just designed to control air quality for the time when the Olympics are on,' says Dr Andy Jones. Dr Angus Hunter warned that athletes are at risk for low performance if the air quality cannot be brought down to acceptable levels. 'Average times could be lower and the chances of records being broken become less. It's a bit like trying to exercise in a room when the gym is full of smokers.'"

Comments

Just now?

[IronWilliamCash]

If only they would do this for the right reasons... They'll be cleaning up for the olympics but it will all go back to hell as soon as it's over. They should try to solve the problem permanently instead of suppressing it so others think it's livable over there.

Re:Just now?

[initdeep]

and most of that air quality has to do with the coal power plants which run with no emission controls like other countries have.

they haven't, and are not, going to change that.

it's something they have literally hundreds of years of supply, and something they can get for next to nothing in the way of costs, unlike oil based products which they have to import.

and they aren't interested in spending money on economically friendly "alternative" energy sources that wouldn't supply 1% of their needs when they can again, spend next to nothing (including wages and other costs) to just use something they have.
COAL.

Re:Just now?

[initdeep]

it has been for years.

witness the very reason the kyoto protocol treaty was not ratified by the US despite a cetain person's desire.

it was bullshit.

and now everyone knows it.

and the biggest reason it was bullshit was because china and india weren't going to be held accountable for their actions.

and the "Developed" countries were, yet they already have in place protocols to limit their emissions.

amazing how it comes full circle.

Re:Just now?

[Arccot]

then why dont they just sign onto the kyoto protocol at the same level that other developed (read the united states) countries are supposed to.

oh wait.......

China is the single largest user of coal power and also the single dirtiest and most unsafe user as well.

the average death rate for chinese coal workers is more than 10/day iirc.

They're also a massive manufacturing center and exporting superpower. It's easy to tell China to shape up, when the only reason wealthy Western countries are relatively cleaner is because they outsource most dirty manufacturing to China.

Just like a 10 year old...

[EmagGeek]

When mom comes around saying he can go play when his room is clean, he frantically shoves the mess into the closet...

uh, wtf?

[pak9rabid]

athletes are at risk for low performance if the air quality cannot be brought down to acceptable levels

Uh..call me crazy, but shouldn't this have been something that should have been taken into serious consideration before choosing a place like this for the Olympics? I mean, I may not be an expert on human physiology, but it would seem to me that having clean air for the Olympic competitors to breathe would have ranked among one of the highest in the checklist for selecting a location for the Olympics.

Re:Environmental Wackos

[Romancer]

Dude, racist?

"EGG" Foo Young on their face... as in Egg on their face. As in Mr T pitties the FOO that doesn't get a bit of localization in a bad pun. There's nothing racist about that remark that you didn't put there yourself. It's a joke that does not demean them as a race, or even say that they exibit stereotypical behavior. Just that they live in a region that introduced a type of cuisine. he did not even include the more typical dog ingredient jokes for the eastern nations that are much more typical of the belittling by mainstream comedians.

I kinda take offence when people try to make general comments racist. If you stopped and thought about the whole racist issue you would find it disturbing that members of most races can use phrases and words that they do not allow other races to use without calling them racist. Isn't that the definition of racist? Treating a race differently because of their race? Allowing them to do something or forbiding them from something else based solely on their race? If we all kinda got the chip off our shoulders and let these comments go, the words would lose their power and that would be the end of at least a part of the problems we all face every day.

The actions, are a different story of course and I acknowledge that, but the reaction to general comments are sometimes showing of more racist thoughts than the comments themselves.