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Can We Inhale Yet?Beijing Readies for the 2008 Summer Games Posted: August 6, 2008 By: Lauren Boyle The air in Beijing is a veritable smog cocktail–made from equal parts fine dust from coal power plants, factories, and vehicle exhaust. When mixed, these ingredients accumulate to a rate that is two or three times the maximum levels recommended by the World Health Organization.
Just ask Bobby Asplund, a 2007 graduate of New Trier High School and rising sophomore at University of Wisconsin. He has been studying in Tianjin (situated on the outskirts of Beijing) for the summer. "My teacher told me a story about a European man who worked in Beijing for two years, and when he went back to Europe for a check up, the doctor told him to stop smoking." If only he were joking. The air in Beijing is a veritable smog cocktail–made from equal parts fine dust from coal power plants, factories, and vehicle exhaust. When mixed, these ingredients accumulate to a rate that is two or three times the maximum levels recommended by the World Health Organization.
Just ask Bobby Asplund, a 2007 graduate of New Trier High School and rising sophomore at University of Wisconsin. He has been studying in Tianjin (situated on the outskirts of Beijing) for the summer. "My teacher told me a story about a European man who worked in Beijing for two years, and when he went back to Europe for a check up, the doctor told him to stop smoking." If only he were joking. Populated by 11 million Chinese, Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world; their air pollution levels are blamed for more than 400,000 premature deaths a year. In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the government of Beijing has enacted major overhauls–and invested over 3 billion dollars– to combat their notorious air pollution… and revamp their image. From the onset, Beijing officials have been confident they will be able to reduce the city's air pollution to levels that will not hinder the health of the Olympics athletes. They have taken drastic measures to lessen pollution. "We will do everything possible to honor the promise," said Du Shaozhong of the city's Environmental Protection Bureau. "Just tell everybody they don't have to worry." Not everyone is feeling so confident; Asplund intimates that the major overhauls may have more to do with China's desire to refashion a greener image. "On our drive to Beijing from Tianjin, the whole highway has new trees being planted. This is clearly for the Olympics," he explains, noting it's a good thing nonetheless. Pictures of the famous Olympic Village were taken on uncharacteristically nice days– in reality, Asplund estimates that during his stay in China there have been only three sunny days. These staged images are deceptive, and as Asplund explains, "It's such a different place than you imagine." The changes Beijing has undergone in preparation for the 2008 Olympics are but a sneak peek of the radical transformation the country is–or isn't– prepared to make. A study of China's mass-movement to urbanization by Mckinsey Global Institute reports that 350 million more people in China will move from rural areas to cities by 2025 –that's the same population as the United States! This would be as if the entire population of America lived in small villages and planned to move to newly built cities over just a 17-year time span. In order to accommodate this grand-scale urbanization, China needs to build five million buildings (50,000 of which are likely to be skyscrapers), and 170 mass transit systems. Kind of makes you wonder what the air will be like then. Sources: The Guardian, The New York Times, Spiegel
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Comments
That top picture says it all. Now there's an ozone action day if I ever saw one. I'm wheezing just looking at it!
by: julie2 @ Thursday August 7, 2008 | 8:56:52 PM