Chinese capitalism and the environment

[Toronado3800]

Here is a link to the yahoo news story about air quality in Bejing.

Air pollution in Beijing goes off the index - Yahoo! News

Is it really that bad? Any idea what our cities scored or would have scored back in the day when folks used coal to heat their homes?

What I read is "this is the lack of regulation our companies must compete with".

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - the air's so thick ya can cut it with a knife...

Beijing Air Quality Worst on Record
January 13, 2013 - Beijing is under an extreme smog warning Sunday, with pollution at hazardous levels for a third day, and people warned to stay indoors.

The municipal environment warning center issued an alert Saturday in China's capital, advising the elderly, children and those suffering respiratory or cardiovascular illness to avoid going out or doing strenuous exercise.

Skyscrapers are obscure by heavy haze in Beijing, China, January 13, 2013.

The center said Sunday that particulates small enough to deeply penetrate lungs were at nearly four times the level considered safe. The readings were called the worst on record. China's official state-run Xinhua news agency predicted that the pollution could last another three days.

Meanwhile, fog covering vast areas of eastern and central China has closed numerous highways and delayed flights in several provinces. International organizations say China's air quality is among the worst in the world because of massive coal consumption and car-choked city streets.

Beijing Air Quality Worst on Record

Beijing’s air pollution goes off the index
Mon, Jan 14, 2013 - EXACERBATING: One of the factors causing the extreme air pollution was a lack of wind as pollutants can easily accumulate and fail to dissipate, a health expert said

People refused to venture outdoors and buildings disappeared into Beijing’s murky skyline yesterday as the capital’s air quality went off the index. The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center said on its Web site that the density of PM2.5 particulates had surpassed 700 micrograms per cubic meter in many parts of the city. The WHO considers a safe daily level to be 25 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 are tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size or about 1/30th the average width of a human hair. They can penetrate deep into the lungs, so measuring them is considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other methods. The Beijing center recommended that children and the elderly should stay indoors, and others should avoid outdoor activities.

The US embassy also publishes data for PM2.5 on Twitter, and interprets the data according to more stringent standards. In the 24-hour period up to 10 am yesterday, it said 18 of the hourly readings were “beyond index.” The highest number was 755 which corresponded to a PM2.5 density of 886 micrograms per cubic meter. The US’ Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality index only goes up to 500 and it advises anything greater than 300 would trigger a health warning of “emergency conditions” with the entire population likely affected. While some people vowed to stay indoors with air purifiers turned on, streets were still fairly busy and there was the familiar sight of lines of traffic on main thoroughfares.

A young couple strolled along hand in hand in the central business district, both with matching white masks strung around their faces. Two Taiwanese tourists wore masks they said they had brought with them because they heard Beijing’s pollution was so bad. “I don’t know why there is such heavy haze these past days. It’s really quite serious compared with the air quality three days ago,” said a 33-year-old lawyer, who would give only his surname, Liu, as he adjusted his own mask. He said he had only ventured out because he needed to go shopping. PM2.5 can result from the burning of fuels in vehicles and power plants.

Weather conditions are a factor in the recent poor air quality as a lack of wind means pollutants can easily accumulate and fail to dissipate, said Pan Xiao Chuan, a professor at Peking University’s public health department. “Recent pollution doesn’t mean there is an increase in the discharge of pollutants,” he said. Experts say they thought the PM2.5 readings were the highest since Beijing started publishing that data early last year.

More Beijing?s air pollution goes off the index - Taipei Times

 

[Politico]

You think they have capitalism. Bless your heart.

 

[Toronado3800]

You think they have capitalism. Bless your heart.

I have been reading the crud below too much lately and have it on my mind. You'd swear China was the dream country of some industrialists.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/economy/263079-chinese-capitalism-naturally-gives-rise-to-unprecedented-inequality.html

 

[waltky]

If yer going to Beijing, China be sure to wear a gas mask on yer face, if yer going to Beijing, China (sung to the tune of If You're Going to San Francisco)...

Beijing warns residents after off-the-charts smog
13 Jan.`12 — Beijing schools kept children indoors and hospitals saw a spike in respiratory cases Monday following a weekend of off-the charts pollution in China's smoggy capital, the worst since the government began being more open about air-quality data.

City authorities, who began releasing figures about some of the worst kinds of pollutants early last year, ordered many factories to scale back emissions and were spraying water at building sites to try to tamp down dust and dirt worsening the noxious haze hanging over the city. Demand spiked for face masks and air purifiers, and hospitals saw surges of up to 30 percent in residents seeking help for breathing problems, state-run media outlets reported. Schools in several districts were ordered to cancel outdoor activities such as flag-raisings and sports classes, and in an unusual public announcement, Beijing authorities advised all residents to "take measures to protect their health." "It's really terrible. I'm extremely upset, but there's really nothing much I can do," said a Beijing resident out for a morning stroll. Like many Chinese, the man would give only his surname, Kang.

Another man, a 60-year-old retiree surnamed Chen, said his elderly relatives had moved to stay with family members outside the city to avoid the pollution. "I'm in pretty good shape, but the older folks have a lot of problems with their hearts, breathing, and high blood pressure," Chen said. Levels of PM2.5 particle pollution over the weekend reached the highest levels since the Beijing government began publicly releasing figures following a public outcry. In separate monitoring by the U.S. Embassy, level were at 886 micrograms per cubic meter in a reading that was labeled "beyond index."

By Monday, levels had declined to about 350 micrograms on the Beijing government scale — down from a high above 700 but still way above the level of 25 considered safe by the World Health Organization. PM2.5 are tiny particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the average width of a human hair. They can penetrate deep into the lungs, and measuring them is considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other methods.

The Beijing Shijitan Hospital received 20 percent more patients than usual at its respiratory health department, Dr. Huang Aiben said. Most patients were coughing and sought treatment for chronic bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, Huang said. "Because these dust particles are relatively fine, they can be directly absorbed by the lung's tiny air sacs. The airway's ability to block the fine dust is relatively weak and so bacteria and viruses carried by the dust can directly enter the airway," Huang said.

MORE

 

[Trakar]

You think they have capitalism. Bless your heart.

I have been reading the crud below too much lately and have it on my mind. You'd swear China was the dream country of some industrialists.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/econo...y-gives-rise-to-unprecedented-inequality.html

It does seem to be a pretty good example of what happens when you lack comprehensive oversight, regulation and effective enforcement of regulations. It is easy to get the impression that this is the system many conservatives would prefer.

 

[waltky]

Granny says good luck with dat one...

China plans rules against air pollution
Mon, Jan 21, 2013 - THROUGH THE HAZE: Authorities are increasingly concerned about air quality because the issue plays into popular resentment over rising inequality and political privilege

Beijing is to unveil unprecedented new rules governing how China’s capital reacts to hazardous air pollution, Xinhua news agency said, as deteriorating air quality threatens to become a rallying point for wider political dissatisfaction. The rules will formalize previous ad hoc measures, including shutting down factories, cutting back on burning coal and taking certain vehicle classes off the roads on days when pollution hits unacceptable levels.

Air quality in Beijing, on many days degrees of magnitude below minimum international health standards for breathability, is of increasing concern to China’s leadership because it plays into popular resentment over political privilege and rising inequality in the world’s second-largest economy.

Domestic media have run stories describing the expensive air purifiers government officials enjoy in their homes and offices, alongside reports of special organic farms so cadres need not risk suffering from recurring food safety scandals. Smog blanketed most of the city from late on Friday, prompting the government to warn people to reduce outdoor activities. On Saturday, an index measuring particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), rose as high as 400 in some parts in the city.

HAZARDOUS

A level above 300 is considered hazardous, while the WHO recommends a daily level of no more than 20. The reading was still lower than the previous weekend, when it hit a staggering 755. Lung cancer rates in the city have shot upward by 60 percent in the last decade, according to a report by the state-run China Daily in 2011, even as smoking rates have flattened out. The pollution has also deterred foreigners from living and working in “Greyjing.”

TRANSPARENT APPROACH

 

[asterism]

You think they have capitalism. Bless your heart.

I have been reading the crud below too much lately and have it on my mind. You'd swear China was the dream country of some industrialists.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/econo...y-gives-rise-to-unprecedented-inequality.html

It does seem to be a pretty good example of what happens when you lack comprehensive oversight, regulation and effective enforcement of regulations. It is easy to get the impression that this is the system many conservatives would prefer.

But China is very highly regulated.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - when ya go to visit, don't drink the water...

China’s Other Pollution Problem: Water
January 23, 2013 — When chemicals recently contaminated a river in China’s northern Shanxi province, it took authorities five days to report the incident. While the mayor offered an apology and chemical plant officials were dismissed, the spill ended up affecting drinking water in several cities downstream.

It also dealt another blow to public confidence in the government. Official statistics indicate China has around 1,700 water pollution accidents each year, and up to 40 percent of the country’s rivers are seriously polluted. Not only are natural water sources polluted, but they are becoming scarce as well. Beijing is one place where the debate over water quality and quantity is coming to a head. “Of the more than 100 rivers that there are now in Beijing, only two or three can be used for tap water – and those are the ones that the government in Beijing is protecting," says Zhao Feihong, a water researcher at the Beijing Healthcare Association. "Those are the ones that we can use water from, the rest of the rivers if they have not dried up, then they are polluted by discharge.”

Zhao and her husband, who is also a water researcher, recently became the focus of state-media online outlets after confessing they have not let Beijing’s tap water touch their lips in 20 years. Their story drew attention just as Beijing’s city government began releasing water quality statistics – long treated as a state secret – for the first time. According to Zhao, the move is a step in the right direction. “The fact that it can be disclosed is an improvement for the common people who will better understand the water that they drink," she says. "So this is a relatively good thing, but I think that publicizing this figure is not enough.”

Instead of periodically releasing statistics, Zhao says, the government should let the public know immediately what to do if something affects the drinking water. Hao Yungang became a part of Beijing’s water debate after publishing photos of gunk gathering in his faucet on China’s Twitter-like Weibo micro-blogging service. “I did not anticipate that the level of interest would be so high," says Hao. "But these days, people have higher and higher expectations about the quality of life, whether it is water, food safety, pollution or even traffic.” Like many in Beijing, Hao says he uses tap water to wash dishes and filtered water to cook. While he believes officials who say Beijing’s water is safe at its source, he knows that what happens between the treatment plant and his home is another matter.

Source & Video

 

[waltky]

Smog so thick ya can cut it with a knife...

Beijing smog levels go off scale
Wed, Jan 30, 2013 - HEAVY HAZE: The Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center air quality index at noon yesterday was 414, while the US embassy’s reading was 475, which is ‘hazardous’

Residents across northern China battled through choking pollution yesterday, as air quality levels rose above index limits in Beijing amid warnings that the smog may not clear until tomorrow. Visibility was reduced to about 200m in the center of the capital, where mask-wearing pedestrians made their way through a murky haze, despite warnings from authorities to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. In a Beijing city office visited by reporters, up to 20 workers wore gas-mask style protective headgear at their desks as the cloud of pollution shrouded large swathes of the country for the second consecutive day. State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) showed vehicles using full headlights in mid-morning to light a way through the smog, mainly in badly affected Henan Province.

A total of 109 flights were canceled at Zhengzhou Airport in Henan, said CCTV, adding that the haze would last until tomorrow. In Shandong Province, almost 2,000 passengers were stranded at Qingdao’s main airport after it shut with 20 flights canceled as visibility dropped to 100m, Xinhua news agency reported. It is at least the fourth time a dense cloud of haze has descended on northern China this winter, with even state media repeatedly expressing anger over the issue. The China Daily reiterated its calls for firm action yesterday, directing them at newly installed Beijing Mayor Wang Anshan, who formally took over on Monday. “What do Beijing residents expect of their new mayor?” the newspaper asked in an editorial. “Of all the things that need improving, cleaner air will be at the top of many people’s wish list.”

Wang was quoted by Xinhua as saying: “The current environmental problems are worrisome.” The US embassy’s air quality index reading for Beijing stood at 475 and “hazardous” at noon yesterday, after having reached 517, or “beyond index,” at 6am. The index rates a reading over 150 as “unhealthy,” above 300 as “hazardous,” while anything over the upper limit of 500 is regarded as “beyond index.” Meanwhile, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center gave the figure as 414 at noon, indicating the capital’s air was “severely polluted.”

The toxic air follows an extreme bout of pollution earlier this month, peaking on Jan. 13 when state media said readings for PM2.5, particles small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs, reached 993 micrograms per cubic meter, almost 40 times the WHO’s recommended safe limit. At the height of the smog, many Beijing residents rushed to buy face masks and air purifiers, and doctors at two of Beijing’s major hospitals said the number of patients with respiratory problems had increased sharply during the period. China’s pollution problems are blamed on the country’s rapid urbanization and dramatic economic development. However, experts have raised questions over China’s will and ability to tackle car and coal use, which are seen as key causes of the phenomenon.

Beijing smog levels go off scale - Taipei Times

 

[skookerasbil]

You think they have capitalism. Bless your heart.

I have been reading the crud below too much lately and have it on my mind. You'd swear China was the dream country of some industrialists.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/econo...y-gives-rise-to-unprecedented-inequality.html

It does seem to be a pretty good example of what happens when you lack comprehensive oversight, regulation and effective enforcement of regulations. It is easy to get the impression that this is the system many conservatives would prefer.

Typical statement from one of the hate America types!! INdeed........to the climate k00ks, the water and air could never be clean enough. If it was 99.9999% perfect, the k00ks would still be complaining. They all seek the destruction of the capitalistic system, which is the main function of "climate change" science. What China represents is the folly in any kind of pursuit of climate change regulation in America. Its like somebody cutting off their arm and being able to say, "Hey....I just lost 15 pounds!!!"

 

[waltky]

So whadaya want cars or clean air? - now ya can have both...

China's love affair with cars chokes air in cities
Jan 31,`13 -- Endless lines of slow-moving cars emerge like apparitions and then disappear again into the gloom of the thick smog that has shrouded Beijing this week and reduced its skyline to blurry gray shapes.

With more than 13 million cars sold in China last year, motor vehicles have emerged as the chief culprit for the throat-choking air pollution in big cities especially Beijing, which has suffered even more than usual these past few days. As the Chinese middle-class expanded dramatically over the last 20 years, cars became the new symbol of prosperity. With the economy continuing to grow, the love affair with cars will only bloom more, and is already posing a challenge for dealing with the hazardous air pollution in urban China with widespread impact on health, productivity and quality of life.

The attachment for automobiles has turned into a vicious cycle. "To be honest, the more the air is polluted, the more I prefer to drive, as I don't like taking a crowded bus or walking outside in such bad air," said subway train driver Gao Fei. Twenty years ago, bikes, not cars, owned the streets. Today, "buying a car is like buying a bicycle," said Gao as he drove his black Buick Regal sedan in west Beijing. "It hasn't been long since Chinese people owned their own cars. So for them a car is still something quite fresh and so they prefer to drive after so many years of riding bicycles," he said. "They still would prefer to enjoy the traffic jam rather than suffer on the crowded bus."

In the 1990s, the few vehicles on the roads belonged to the government or state companies. Private car ownership took off exponentially only in the last decade. The government has promoted car buying as a way of keeping the economy growing with banks offering attractive car loans. These policies, and the traditional Chinese habit of saving, have put cars like Gao's Buick Regal (price tag 180,000 yuan, or $29,000) within the reach of many Chinese even though the average annual salary in Beijing is 56,000 yuan ($8,900). The result has been increased vehicle emissions. While burning of coal for power plants is a major source of air pollution across China, vehicle emissions are the single biggest source of PM2.5 - a secondary pollutant that forms in the air and is tiny enough to enter deep into the lungs - in Beijing, according to the capital's former vice mayor, Hong Feng.

He says vehicles account for 22 percent of PM2.5 in the capital, followed by 17 percent from coal burning and 16 percent from construction site dust. In recent days, air quality went off the index in Beijing as the capital turned into a white landscape with buildings eaten up by murk. Zhang Quan, a former soldier, said the smog was the worst and longest-lasting he had seen in his life. "When I was young, our geography teacher taught us how to recognize the galaxy and I could find it at night, but I guess kids nowadays can't do that anymore," said Zhang, 52.

China's increasingly informed and vocal citizens have successfully pushed the government to be more transparent about how bad the air is, taking to the country's lively social media to call for better information and even testing the air themselves. Hourly air quality updates are now available online for more than 70 cities, and two particularly bad bouts of hazardous air this month received unprecedented coverage in the state media. But as Chinese get richer, their desire for cleaner air conflicts with their growing dependence on cars.

MORE

See also:

Chinese Millionaire Sells Cans of Fresh Air
January 30, 2013 - China's foulest two-week period for air pollution in memory has rekindled a tongue-in-cheek campaign by a multimillionaire with a streak of showmanship who is selling canned fresh air.

Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune in the recycling business and is a high-profile philanthropist, on January 30 handed out soda pop-sized cans of air, purportedly from far-flung, pristine regions of China such as Xinjiang in the northwest to Taiwan, the southeast coast. "I want to tell mayors, county chiefs and heads of big companies: don't just chase GDP growth, don't chase the biggest profits at the expense of our children and grandchildren and at the cost of sacrificing our ecological environment", Chen said. China's air quality is closely watched as it fluctuates dramatically from day to day but in recent weeks has registered far into the unhealthy zone. Air pollution is measured in terms of PM2.5, or particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which are absorbed by the lungs and can cause heart and lung disease. The World Health Organisation recommends a daily PM2.5 level of 20 and says that levels greater than 300 are serious health hazards.

Chinese multimillionaire Chen Guangbiao (R) gives a can of fresh air to a man wearing a mask on a hazy day in central Beijing,

Beijing's air quality frequently surges past a level of 500, and on Jan. 12 soared to 755, the highest in memory. "I go outside, walk for about 20 minutes, and my throat hurts and I feel dizzy", Chen told Reuters in an interview on a busy Beijing sidewalk. He handed out green and orange cans of "Fresh Air", with a caricature of himself on them saying, "Chen Guangbiao is a good man". "Be a good person, have a good heart, do good things," reads a message along the bottom of each can. The 44-year-old entrepreneur, whose wealth is estimated at $740 million according to last year's Hurun Rich List of China's super-wealthy, is an ebullient and tireless self-promoter. He is something of a celebrity in China, with more than 4 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's most popular Twitter-like microblogging platform.

He concedes that his canned-air effort is tongue in cheek, but says it's a way to awaken people to the importance of environmental protection. His campaign is attracting bemusement but also plaudits from the media and from people desperate to escape the smog. "Beijing's air really needs to improve, so we need a good man like him to appear," said a 21-year-old resident surnamed Hu. "It reminds people to use less fuel and do what they can for Beijing's air". The cans of air were free on January 30, but usually sell for 5 yuan (80 cents) with proceeds going to poor regions of China, and places of historic revolutionary importance. Sales, which had been moderate, took off after the recent streak of bad air days, with 8 million cans sold in the last 10 days, Chen said.

Source

 

[Mr Natural]

Special Ed will be by later today to expound on the wonders of Chinese republican capitalism.

 

[waltky]

Big oil called on the carpet in China for smog...

China’s oil giants take a choke-hold on power
Mon, Feb 04, 2013 - The search for culprits behind the rancid haze enveloping China’s capital has turned a spotlight on the country’s two largest oil companies and their resistance to tougher fuel standards.

Bureaucratic fighting between the Ministry of Environmental Protection on the one hand and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Sinopec Group on the other has thwarted stricter emission standards for diesel trucks and buses — a main cause of air pollution blanketing dozens of China’s cities. To be sure, many sources contribute to air pollution levels that hit records last month, but analysts say the oil companies’ foot-dragging and disregard of environmental regulations underscore a critical challenge facing a toothless environment ministry in its mission to curb air pollution.

With widespread and rising public anger changing the political calculus, it also poses a broader question of whether the incoming administration led by Chinese Communist Party General Secretary and Vice President Xi Jinping will stand up to powerful vested interests in a country where state-owned enterprises have long trumped certain ministries in the quest for economic growth at all costs. To supply cleaner diesel, the oil firms must invest tens of billions of yuan (billions of dollars) to remove the sulphur content, said Mu Xiaoyi, a senior lecturer in energy economics at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

PetroChina, the listed arm of CNPC, said in a statement that all automotive diesel produced by PetroChina last year met existing Chinese emissions standards. Sinopec chairman Fu Chengyu, quoted by Xinhua news agency last week, acknowledged that China’s refineries are one of the main parties that should bear responsibility for air pollution. Even so, he added that was not because fuel failed to meet standards, but rather because fuel standards were not sufficient. The bureaucratic tug-of-war has been going on for years.

Frustrated by the repeated delays in enforcing existing environmental standards, Chinese Deputy Minister for Environmental Protection Zhang Lijun called a meeting in late 2011 with officials from the country’s two biggest oil companies. In unequivocal statements, he sought to lay down the law: The ministry was not going to further delay the cleaner China IV emission standard for trucks and buses, despite reluctance by CNPC and Sinopec to supply the fuel that would cost more to produce. The officials from the oil companies responded by promising to supply the cleaner fuel after last year’s Lunar New Year, which fell in January that year.

However, a few months later, a spot check by the ministry showed the companies were still supplying ordinary diesel, said Tang Dagang, director of the Vehicle Emission Control Center, whose policy research group is affiliated with the ministry. With media focusing on a sudden worsening of the air quality in Beijing at the start of this year — 21 days last month recorded “heavily polluted” levels or worse — urban residents are increasingly impatient with the political wrangling.

MORE

See also:

Suffocating smog from China reaches regions of Japan
Tue, Feb 05, 2013 - The suffocating smog that blanketed swathes of China is now hitting parts of Japan, sparking warnings yesterday of health risks for the young and the sick.

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment’s Web site has been overloaded as worried users log on to try to find out what is coming their way. “Access to our air pollution monitoring system has been almost impossible since last week and the telephone here has been constantly ringing because worried people keep asking us about the impact on health,” a ministry official said. Pictures of Beijing and other Chinese cities shrouded in thick, choking smog played out across television screens in Japan last week. News programs have broadcast maps showing a swirl of pollution gathering strength across China and then spreading out over the ocean toward Japan.

Pinks, reds and oranges that denote the highest concentrations form a finger of smog that inches upward to the main southern island of Kyushu. Relations between Tokyo and Beijing are already strained, over the sovereignty of the Diaoyutai Islands, claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan, which calls them the Senkakus. On the streets of Tokyo, reaction was tart. “China is our neighbor and all sorts of problems happen between us all the time,” Takaharu Abiko, 50, said. “It is very worrying. This is dangerous pollution, like poison, and we can’t protect ourselves. It’s scary.”

Japanese officials were coy about lumping all the blame on their huge neighbor, but Yasushi Nakajima of the environment ministry said: “We can’t deny there is an impact from pollution in China.” Air pollution over the west of Japan has exceeded government limits over the past few days, with tiny particulate matter a problem, Atsushi Shimizu of Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) said. Prevailing winds from the west bring airborne particles from the Asian mainland, he said. Of specific concern is the concentration of particles 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, which has been as high as 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over recent days in northern Kyushu. The government’s safety limit is 35 micrograms.

Yellow sand from the deserts of Mongolia and China is a known source of these particles, as are exhausts from cars and smoke from factories. “At this time of year they are definitely not yellow sand, so they’re toxic particles,” Shimizu said, adding that “people with respiratory diseases should be careful.”

Toshihiko Takemura, an associate professor of Kyushu University who runs another air pollution monitoring site, said “the impact of air pollution originating from China on Japan was scientifically discovered more than a decade ago.” “Especially in Kyushu, the level of air pollution has been detectable in everyday lives since a few years ago,” he told reporters. “People in eastern and northern Japan are now belatedly noticing the cross-border air pollution.” Takemura added that pollution in Japan over the past few days has not been quite as bad as it was in February 2011, when “very hazy days continued for several days in western Japan.”

Suffocating smog from China reaches regions of Japan - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

China has witnessed growing public anger over pollution caused by industrial development...

China acknowledges 'cancer villages'
22 February 2013 - China's environment ministry appears to have acknowledged the existence of so-called "cancer villages" after years of public speculation about the impact of pollution in certain areas.

For years campaigners have said cancer rates in some villages near factories and polluted waterways have shot up. But the term "cancer village" has no technical definition and the ministry's report did not elaborate on it. There have been many calls for China to be more transparent on pollution. The latest report from the environment ministry is entitled "Guard against and control risks presented by chemicals to the environment during the 12th Five-Year period (2011-2015)".

It says that the widespread production and consumption of harmful chemicals forbidden in many developed nations are still found in China. "The toxic chemicals have caused many environmental emergencies linked to water and air pollution," it said. The report goes on to acknowledge that such chemicals could pose a long-term risk to human health, making a direct link to the so-called "cancer villages". "There are even some serious cases of health and social problems like the emergence of cancer villages in individual regions," it said.

Beijing smog

The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says that as China has experienced rapid development, stories about so-called cancer villages have become more frequent. And China has witnessed growing public anger over air pollution and industrial waste caused by industrial development. Media coverage of conditions in these so-called "cancer villages" has been widespread. In 2009, one Chinese journalist published a map identifying dozens of apparently affected villages. In 2007 the BBC visited the small hamlet of Shangba in southern China where one scientist was studying the cause and effects of pollution on the village. He found high levels of poisonous heavy metals in the water and believed there was a direct connection between incidences of cancer and mining in the area.

Until now, there has been little comment from the government on such allegations. Environmental lawyer Wang Canfa, who runs a pollution aid centre in Beijing, told the AFP news agency that it was the first time the "cancer village" phrase had appeared in a ministry document. Last month - Beijing - and several other cities - were blanketed in smog that soared past levels considered hazardous by the World Health Organisation. The choking pollution provoked a public outcry and led to a highly charged debate about the costs of the country's rapid economic development, our correspondent says.

BBC News - China acknowledges 'cancer villages'

 

[initforme]

yes china is surely booming...a model for others to see. Too bad you have to poison yourself by breathing to live there.

 

[Toronado3800]

China has witnessed growing public anger over pollution caused by industrial development...

China acknowledges 'cancer villages'
22 February 2013 - China's environment ministry appears to have acknowledged the existence of so-called "cancer villages" after years of public speculation about the impact of pollution in certain areas.

For years campaigners have said cancer rates in some villages near factories and polluted waterways have shot up. But the term "cancer village" has no technical definition and the ministry's report did not elaborate on it. There have been many calls for China to be more transparent on pollution. The latest report from the environment ministry is entitled "Guard against and control risks presented by chemicals to the environment during the 12th Five-Year period (2011-2015)".

It says that the widespread production and consumption of harmful chemicals forbidden in many developed nations are still found in China. "The toxic chemicals have caused many environmental emergencies linked to water and air pollution," it said. The report goes on to acknowledge that such chemicals could pose a long-term risk to human health, making a direct link to the so-called "cancer villages". "There are even some serious cases of health and social problems like the emergence of cancer villages in individual regions," it said.

Beijing smog

The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says that as China has experienced rapid development, stories about so-called cancer villages have become more frequent. And China has witnessed growing public anger over air pollution and industrial waste caused by industrial development. Media coverage of conditions in these so-called "cancer villages" has been widespread. In 2009, one Chinese journalist published a map identifying dozens of apparently affected villages. In 2007 the BBC visited the small hamlet of Shangba in southern China where one scientist was studying the cause and effects of pollution on the village. He found high levels of poisonous heavy metals in the water and believed there was a direct connection between incidences of cancer and mining in the area.

Until now, there has been little comment from the government on such allegations. Environmental lawyer Wang Canfa, who runs a pollution aid centre in Beijing, told the AFP news agency that it was the first time the "cancer village" phrase had appeared in a ministry document. Last month - Beijing - and several other cities - were blanketed in smog that soared past levels considered hazardous by the World Health Organisation. The choking pollution provoked a public outcry and led to a highly charged debate about the costs of the country's rapid economic development, our correspondent says.

BBC News - China acknowledges 'cancer villages'

Another fine point.

Nice to see what we have to out compete in this cold war ii