Tag: Olympics 08

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China’s air pollution threatens 08 Olympians

Haile Gebrselassie the world record holder for the marathon run just announced that because of Bejing’s extensive air pollution problem, and his asthma, he won’t be running in the high endurance race.

China’s pollution problems for the Olympics have been well publicized on the net but are not fully well known to everyone in the states (stats are listed below). China had committed to the Olympic committee to ease these concerns and are doing so by moving factories outside the city, reducing taxi use and replacing them with more fuel efficient cars, replacing coal burning furnaces with natural gas, and even committing to closing plants all together during the events of the games. Still:

Runners coughed and gagged as they limbered up. Thick smog shrouded the Tsing Ma Bridge. Pollution index readings on this morning in February 2006 were at 149, the highest in months. Any reading over 100 is considered unhealthy.

A disturbing trend in popular thought is Gary Lough’s quote (husband of Britain’s Paula Radcliffe, a planned runner for the games) said:

“There’s no point in us being especially concerned, because pollution’s not really something you can control.”

Ahh but it is if we want to Gary, it is if we want to. And obviously if this is a situation that’s effect athletes that are in top shape, imaging what it’s doing to those typical day walkers that don’t have the physical conditioning?

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What’s wrong with China’s air:

  • China’s air was rated Worst in the World in late 2005 based on satellite data for all countries contributing pollution and particulates into the earth’s atmosphere.
  • According to the World Bank, 16 cities in the world with the worst air pollution are located in China.
  • The country’s Ministry of Science and Technology has estimated that 50,000 newborn babies a year die from the effects of air pollution.
  • China’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important global warming gas, are expected to surpass those of the United States in 2009, according to the International Energy Agency.
  • At a recent Marathon (in 2006), the pollution Index read 149 (Anything over 100 is considered unhealthy).
  • “Eric W. Orts, professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton, says that pollution, if left unchecked, will drag down China’s economic growth and result in huge healthcare costs. In addition, China’s pollution will, over time, erode its competitive position in the global economy.”

“It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.”
~ Dan Quayle (former Vice President of US, with George H Bush 1989–1993)

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China’s air: Worst in the World

The UK Guardian published an article about the latest awards for worst in the world. This one goes to China for having the worst air conditions:

Satellite data reveals Beijing as air pollution capital of world Oct 31st, 2005 [UK Guardian]

As it gears up to host the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing has been awarded an unwelcome new accolade: the air pollution capital of the world.

Satellite data has revealed that the city is one of the worst environmental victims of China’s spectacular economic growth, which has brought with it air pollution levels that are blamed for more than 400,000 premature deaths a year.

According to the European Space Agency, Beijing and its neighbouring north-east Chinese provinces have the planet’s worst levels of nitrogen dioxide, which can cause fatal damage to the lungs.

An explosive increase in car ownership is blamed for a sharp rise in unhealthy emissions. In the past five years the number of vehicles clogging the capital’s streets has more than doubled to nearly 2.5m. It is expected to top the 3m mark by the start of the Olympics in 2008.

Alarm about the perilous state of the environment has gathered pace in recent years. China is the world’s second-largest producer of greenhouse gases, and the World Bank has warned it is home to 16 of the planet’s 20 most air-polluted cities.

According to the European satellite data, pollutants in the sky over China have increased by about 50% during the past 10 years. Senior officials warn that worse is still to come. At a recent seminar Zhang Lijun, deputy director of the environmental protection agency, said that pollution levels could more than quadruple within 15 years unless the country can slow the rise in energy consumption and automobile use.

A recently published study, conducted by the Chinese Academy on Environmental Planning, blamed air pollution for 411,000 premature deaths – mostly from lung and heart-related diseases – in 2003. It said that a third of China’s urban residents were exposed to harmful levels of pollution. More than 100 million people live in cities, such as Beijing, where the air is considered “very dangerous”.

The political implications are also becoming more apparent. Health concerns, particularly regarding cancer and birth defects thought to be caused by chemical factories, have been a major factor in a recent wave of protests. Conservation groups say acid rain falls on a third of China’s territory and 70% of rivers and lakes are so full of toxins they can no longer be used for drinking water.

“There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs there’d be no place to put it all.” ~ Robert Orben (US magician and comedy writer)