Like most foreign residents of Beijing, I’m keeping a close eye on the weather, or more accurately, the smog, these days. The Summer Olympics are only nine days away.
We had a bad bout of smog earlier this month that only began to blew off on Monday. Today’s Air Pollution index is a very tolerable 43. You can see from the photo that the air is pretty clear now.
So let me offer some resources for anyone else interested in air pollution matters in Beijing. First, click here for a very informative summary from Dr. Ken Rahn, a professor emeritus of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Rahn has spent time collecting and analyzing air samples in Beijing in the past several years.
His summary is updated daily with the latest pollution readings. In general terms, Dr. Rahn thinks the sources of pollution in northern China are too broad for specific measures in Beijing, such as knocking cars off the road, to make a real difference. Instead, Beijing is at the mercy of the weather, specifically winds from Mongolia, to clean away polluted air.
Also worth checking out are the informed blog postings of Alex Pasternack at the Treehugger blog. Here’s a link to one.
Then a blog that really delves into the nitty gritty of air quality is the BeijingAirblog. It is there that you’ll learn things like the average API in Beijing is 100, which is six and a half times the World Health Organization’s guidelines for long-term exposure.
At that blog, you get real experts writing in. Among them is George D. Thurston, professor at the NYU School of Medicine, who made the following comment:
…All in all, anything above Chinese API=50 is very unhealthy. Even if it is at API=50, that is still more than double New York City usual levels, so that is not acceptable either. They really need to get the API down to 25 or below to call the air acceptable for Olympic competition. It seems only strong (clean) winds from the North can provide lowered concentrations, and this just doesn’t happen often enough in Beijing.
Several of these blogs are blocked for those residing in China. Seems the Chinese government thinks this information would be unhealthy for your mind. And to hell with your health.
The winds matter a great deal, so do rains. Beijing now have the best set of data on what they can do (and how much impact it will have) on local air quality ever.
No place have ever ran a comparable sized experiment if you do not count the cessation of air traffic right after 9/11 in the US.
Even if the lesson is Beijing have to control millions of point sources, it is a valuable lesson for the future.
A very similar lesson was learned by Mexico city, who found that the millions of propane gas cylinders used for cooking gas, etc. all leak and contributed quite a bit to the smog, rather than cars:
See:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1D81630F93BA2575BC0A963958260
The equivalent story in China would be not just Propane Gas cylinders, but also all the coal fired hot water heaters, BBQ, etc.
Shutting that down without inconveniencing people will be real hard, since it would have to be done not only in metro Beijing, but in the entire air corridor.
Let't give their environmental protection a pat on the back for trying.... at least.
Or email them a copy of the NY Times article above about Mexico's lesson.
Posted by: A B | July 30, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Those people residing in Zhongnanhai also breathe the same air. Why couldn't they do anything earlier and more forceful? Why did they have to wait until the Olympics? I know the principal-agent problems play a big part here, as they strive to control local bureaucrats and businesses. And it's a good thing to know that it's not that they're enjoying good air while the Chinese people suffer. But still, something that makes you angry at those people.
Posted by: on the other hand | July 31, 2008 at 12:57 AM
First off, the pollution problem due to years of deforestation and the rapid speed of growth and industrialization (China's late industrial revolution).
It's quite unfortunate that the policies Mao executed greatly GREATLY affected the environment in China. Some policies were down right asinine and created much unneeded junk which lead to unstable buildings and woes we can still feel today (HINT: Sichuan)
It wasn't until Jiang Zemin that China went through its second full-fledged industrial revolution which caused even more degradation! Jiang only focused on industrializing China while totally ignoring the environmental effects. Which has caused much grief and health problems associated to China today.
Thankfully, under the administration of Hu Jintao, the party has moved away from pure growth in favor of a more, balanced union calling for more social reforms and environmental reforms.
I am somewhat disgusted however at the way the government is currently dealing with the air quality situation. There is a saying in Chinese, To Cure the Outside but not the Source.(zhi biao bu zhi ben). Better translated as, "a temporary solution".
They need to create stricter laws to curb and control environmental degradation not find a temporary fixes to please a bunch of foreign people.
However, I am pleased at the fact that they are looking for alternative fuels and trying to elevate the dependency on coal. I hear a lot of bad critism about the Three Gorges Dam, but I suppose it was a much needed sacrifice to ensure a cleaner more renewable source of energy (would you prefer a larger coal plant?).
I'm confident however, that things will change greatly in the next 10 years. China, under Hu Jintao, has begun multiple construction projects to insure more renewable energy sources and mega-green cities.
Nature has been an important part of Chinese culture since the beginning, and the Chinese have to realize this soon.
I thought this was interesting:
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2007/06/08/beer-sunshine-hot-water/
Posted by: Junhui | July 31, 2008 at 02:29 AM
@Jun
Just a minor point --- one of the objections that is quite legitimate to the Three Gorges Dam is that what was achieved could have been done with a series of smaller dams.
No doubt hydroelectricity is the best deal going for many reasons.
China need to be talking to Russia about tapping sources of hydroelectricity in Siberia and exporting the power to China.
BTW, you are right.... the environment need to be improved not for the sake of foreigners, but for the people who actually live there - now and in the future.
Posted by: A B | July 31, 2008 at 02:50 AM
I am sure fans must have got impressed with this blog!!!
Posted by: Adventure Travel Guides | August 24, 2009 at 07:45 AM