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CHINA SEEKS TO CURB ENVIRONMENTALLY HARMFUL ACTIVITIES IN ADVANCE OF 2008 OLYMPICS 1 February 2007 :: Lainey Johr China’s hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games means even greater changes to the country’s already expansive environmental agenda. In a bold move to establish itself as not only an economic powerhouse, the Chinese government is trying to make environmental protection a public affair and change its international reputation as a heavy polluter. This year alone, Beijing will see a swelling of beautification and environment related projects to the tune of $1.5 billion. From the re-facing of 20,000 buildings to adding hundreds of acres of parkland, the city is expected to spend $40 billion in preparation for the games. During the games, over 100 chemical, steel and pharmaceutical businesses and companies linked with China’s infamously poor air quality will be moved or suspended to try and ensure top air quality standards and clear skies for athletes and tourists. But with 16 out of the globe’s 20 worst polluted cities, China has a long way to go. 50,000 babies die every year in China due to the effects of air pollution. Deputy director of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Sun Weide, is in charge of bringing Beijing’s air quality up to international standards. Their goal: to have the air quality of Paris by the opening of the games. Beijing’s deputy director of their Environmental Protection Bureau, Pei Chenghu, reeled out a list of other environmental measures due to take place during the games, including a limit on the city’s coal consumption and the elimination of three million gas-run cars. At present, coal burning accounts for 75% of the country’s energy production. Representatives of the International Olympic Committee met recently with the United Nations Environment Program to plan an environmental audit after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The meeting also focused on efforts to enact a public awareness campaign, harnessing support and the cooperation of the citizens of Beijing. Among suggestions were to stop public spitting and nose clearing, which is apparently a common street scene. The international spotlight is on Beijing to top the efforts of the 2006 Games in Torino, where 70% of greenhouse gases were ‘offset’ through carbon offset investments in companies that use renewable energy or other environmentally carbon neutral processes (for more information on this topic, visit http://www.carbonfund.org/site/). The aim is to offset the carbon dioxide emissions of athletes’ travel and energy consumption during the games, the number one pollutant held responsible for human-induced climate change. China currently emits the second highest amount of carbon dioxide in the world. But will these measures be enough to protect such high caliber athletes from suffering the effects of years of environmental degradation? With high industrial output comes inevitable environmental damage, as experienced by 40,000 runners who signed up for the Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon in 2004. On that day, pollution index analyses gauged the highest levels of air pollution in months, exposing all athletes and citizens alike to dangerous levels of air-borne toxins. Running through a smothering smog, at least 20 runners were hospitalized, many due to respiratory problems, and one 53-year old man would collapse and die midway through the event. Giant dust storms engulf over 4,000 square miles of arable lands around China every year, swirling chaos and adding to the suffocating air quality. [s]
RELATED: The 62,000 ton cargo ship MSC Napoli broke apart off the coast of Devon, England, during last Thursday’s storm system over the UK. A World Heritage Site, the coastline is home to a variety of plant and animal species, and some of the ship’s toxic cargo containers have already spilled into the sea. [Full Story] 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH' BRINGS SCIENCE TO THE FORE IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS For a long time, conventional wisdom dictated that environmental issues were political in nature, and a matter of preference or opinion. The landmark documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth' demonstrates conscientiously that the issue is beyond politics. The film takes pains to show that while priorities —and opinions about them— are at issue, not making ecological sustainability a top priority is not only foolish, but morally unjustifiable. [Full Story] BACKGROUND:
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