Olympics Raise Questions over China’s Environmental Degradation

[Karl]

By Jordan Penner – May 12, 2008

Environmental degradation has become China’s greatest long term challenge. As China prepares for the Olympics, that long term challenge has produced immediate embarrassment. The favorite to win the marathon in Beijing has dropped out and entered into the 10,000 meter race, for fear that intense smog will severely impair his performance. Some athletes will even be staying in Japan and South Korea to escape the smog.

Source: BC :: Collegian: Environmental news from around the world

[Karl]

PhysOrg.com – June 20, 2008

Beijing will ban more than one million cars from the streets during the Olympics in an effort to curb pollution and ease traffic gridlock, the government confirmed Friday. Cars with odd- and even-numbered license plates will be ruled off the roads on alternate days for two months starting July 20, the Beijing government said in a notice posted on its website. Also, 70% of all government cars and vehicles owned by state-run enterprises will be banned under the measure announced seven weeks ahead of the opening ceremony for the August 8-24 Games. The ban is aimed at cutting air pollution and alleviating chronic traffic congestion, the government notice said.

Beijing is one of the world's most polluted cities and vehicle emissions from more than three million cars are chiefly to blame for poor air quality, which represents one of the biggest challenges to the successful staging of the Games. International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge has warned that endurance events, such as the marathon, may be postponed to protect athletes from the effects of pollution. Already, some of the 10,000 athletes coming to the Olympics have expressed concerns about the health impact of competing in the capital city. Ethiopian distance great Haile Gebrselassie, who suffers from asthma, has said he had no intention of "committing suicide" by running the marathon here.

Beijing underwent a four-day trial ban on cars in August 2007, prohibiting one million cars from the roads. The air quality, however, did not appear to show a marked improvement. Heavy smog has become a characteristic feature of Beijing, but government officials maintain that air quality has been improving steadily for years thanks to a 20-billion-dollar environment cleanup campaign launched in 1998. Du Xiaozhong, deputy director of the city's environmental protection bureau, said recently that in addition to the car ban, heavily polluting factories would be shut down during the Games and work on Beijing's thousands of building sites would be restricted.

The car ban was also aimed at easing the legendary traffic snarl-up in a city that sees an additional 1,200 new cars on the roads every day, according to the city government. Under the ruling, all private cars will be affected by the odd-even driving ban and 70 percent of central government and Beijing city vehicles will be kept off the roads. Police and emergency services vehicles, as well as public transport and taxis, will be excluded. Drivers who respect the ban will be rewarded with road tax reductions, the government statement said, while violators will face punishment "under the law" and also lose the tax cut. Coinciding with the car ban confirmation, the government said petrol and diesel prices will rise by more than 16% from Friday to close the gap with soaring international oil prices.

Source: Beijing Olympic car ban targets pollution, gridlock

[natureguy]

I just don't understand that what the hell does chinese government is trying to proove by disturbing its 17 million residents of beijing? Creating a road to mt. everest base camp, taking olympic torch to mt. everest top and that too carried by a tibetian female. Apart from that loads of people in interior china are grasping for food and water. Why not use this USD 20 Billion on thier betterment.

Its all clumsy, as it always has been with chinese.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by natureguy

I just don't understand that what the hell does chinese government is trying to proove by disturbing its 17 million residents of beijing? Creating a road to mt. everest base camp, taking olympic torch to mt. everest top and that too carried by a tibetian female. Apart from that loads of people in interior china are grasping for food and water. Why not use this USD 20 Billion on thier betterment.

Its all clumsy, as it always has been with chinese.

All of these new environmental initiatives and pollution reduction are a result of the external pressure from the whole world, for the Olympics. The question remains as to whether it will involve long-term changes in attitudes of the state, or if they are simply looking to cover up the smog in short-term before returning to normal afterwards? ... Pressure = Response, but is there the political will to continue and for how long (after the Olympics)?

I guess we will just have to wait and see...

[natureguy]

Good point Karl. If I remember well they had been awarded olympics host status in around 2000 itself. Now the question that I find even more concerning is that If they are having trouble even today, it would have been worse in 2000.

[Karl]

The Great Beyond - June 27, 2008



A massive outbreak of algae is threatening to destroy the Chinese Olympics’ sailing event. The sea off the city of Qingdao has been turned green by the algae and a vast number of fishing boats have been drafted in to deal with the problem....

Read Full Article: The Great Beyond: Algal threat to Olympic sailing

[natureguy]

Algal blooms have become an increasingly frequent problem on China's inland lakes because of pollution from industry and farm chemicals.

More than 10,000 workers are battling against time to remove a thick algal bloom that has carpeted the Olympic sailing venue in Qingdao in east China, officials said. A total 5,000 square miles (13,000 square kilometres) is affected, the state news agency Xinhua reported.

A thousand fishing boats have been dredging the area and already 100,000 tonnes of lurid, blue-green algae have been removed. Organisers are also trying to prevent more from spreading into clear waters.

Source

[Karl]

This may be more of an issue related to the socio-economic environment than to pollution per se but it is still rather interesting bit of "sustainability" news in relation to the increasing fiasco developing with the hosting of the Olympics 2008:

Beijing 2008: bars forbidden to serve "blacks" and Mongolians

Asia News - July 18, 2008

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - For "reasons of safety", bars are forbidden to serve "blacks" and Mongolians or place tables in the street. Street musicians are being banned, and so is buying medicines containing "stimulants" without a prescription. Prohibitions are on the rise for the Olympic capital, while the first leaks reveal a grandiose fireworks display for the inauguration. Bar owners around the Workers' Stadium in downtown Beijing say that public security officials are telling them not to let in "blacks" and Mongolians, and many of them have even had to sign a pledge...

Read Full Article: CHINA Beijing 2008: bars forbidden to serve "blacks" and Mongolians, outdoor tables banned - Asia News

[natureguy]

Recently I heard that some australian newspaper appraised efforts of china for clearing atmosphere for olympics. Don't have the link, want more, google.

[Karl]

Will last-ditch efforts help alleviate Beijing’s air pollution problem?

From: Eco Worldly - July 20, 2008

There have been serious concerns about air quality in the Chinese capital of Beijing ever since it was awarded the Olympic Games in 2001. Since then, the Chinese government has spent an estimated $15 billion dollars to address the air pollution problem in Beijing. The cash has been spent on shutting down factories, unleashing cloud seeders to encourage rain, and now, on paying people to not drive their cars.

Beginning today in Beijing, cars with license plates that end in an odd number are banned from the roads every other day, alternating with cars that have even-numbered plates. It is estimated that there are about 3.5 million vehicles on the roads in Beijing and the ban will reduce the numbers of cars on the road by about one million per day. Drivers will be compensated by not having to pay road and vehicle taxes for three months.

Beijing officials claim to have significantly improved air quality, with just over two-thirds of the days last year meeting national health guidelines, up from only 20% a decade earlier. But some question the validity of the data. An article in the Wall St. Journal suggests that pollution standards may have been loosened, air-quality-monitoring stations moved and data possibly manipulated with to show better results.

Read Full Article: China Begins Car-Rationing in Beijing Leading up to the Olympics : EcoWorldly