Air Pollution in China
China is growing at a feverous pace and is now home to 16 of the 20 most polluted cities on the planet. What are the health, economical, and image repercussions from this pollution? And what are the plans to curb their growing problem?
Coal is cheap and abundant in several of China’s providences. It is also an extremely dirty fuel. China's coal output has nearly doubled from 1.25 billion tons in 2000 to 2.38 billion tons in 2006.
Scored, “A slight pollution day�
Looking at the picture above I would not consider this a slight pollution day. What would this day be rated by the United States’ Air Quality Index?
Is ordering people not to drive for the day if their license plate ends with an even or odd number a solution? Sure this may help ease congestion in the major cities and produce a noticeable decrease in the surrounding air pollution, but it is not the answer. China needs a long term solution that will work with their economy.
Comments
I wonder how they will get ready for the Olympics. If I was competing (Do they have a competition for ChE calculations?) I would be very worried. Certainly the government has the authority to demand pollution controls, but do they have the motivation and technology to do so?
Posted by: Steve Sternberg | February 12, 2008 10:07 AM
Yes, China has a long way to go before it begins taking the pollution problem seriously. I stayed in Beijing 4 years ago for 6 weeks and my chest was hurting by the second day. It will be very interesting to see how they handle the pollution issues when the Olympics arrive this summer.
Posted by: Kevin | February 12, 2008 10:02 PM
I believe that they should implement driving restictions to reduce pollutants. They should do this not only for the people competing in the olympics, but also for its own people. They should also use this as momentum to look for more permanent fixes to improve air quality.
Posted by: Brent Haekenkamp | February 14, 2008 2:00 PM
I think that people have to work together globally. I think the government in China has to start taking a stand for pollution standards meaning regulations on limits of pollutants. Make the companies put the newest pollution control technologies in the industries.
Posted by: Marcus Thompson | February 14, 2008 4:41 PM
I wonder how the world can help China implement air pollution cleanup technology. No one does these clean ups unless they are forced to - they cost money and time and give no return on investment. They reduce quarterly profits.
Of course this opens the issue of how to calculate ROI? Should the cost of the pollution on the health of the people be somehow factored into it? How can it be done?
Posted by: Steve Sternberg | February 15, 2008 4:25 PM
How clean does the air really have to be in order to perform in a ChE calculation competition??
In coming months China will be going to great lengths to prepare for the olympics (i.e. shutting down businesses, limiting automobile uses, etc.) These obviously aren't permanent solutions. And all permanent solutions are GOING to require large upfront costs. So when will they be "forced" to spend their money and time.
I think a way to factor pollution improvements into ROI would be to record % pollutant emitted to atmosphere. As this percent is improved, ROI is affected. Measuring the health of the population would be hard to record, as some pollute themselves more than others.
Posted by: Elizabeth Kokesh | February 19, 2008 8:08 PM