Beijing Logs Last Blue Sky Day of 2007

On the last day of the year, Beijing registered 246 "Blue Sky Days," meeting China's goal to tackle air pollution before the Olympic Games. In order to log a "Blue Sky Day" 27 monitoring stations across the city must show levels of three air pollutants have been reduced in order to cut smog that perpetually lingers over the city. According to James Reynolds of the BBC, on a typical day when pollutants have not been reduced, it is difficult to see more than 50 metres into the distance.

Due to respiratory issues caused by choking smog that could impact athletes, Olympic officials have warned some games may be cancelled if air pollution is not cleaned up. Reportedly China's government is not as stringent with its air quality index as other countries. A good day in Beijing would be considered a polluted day in the U.S., with increased levels of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and NOx.

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Olympic Events May Be Reschduled Due to Pollution

Reuters reported on Tuesday that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decide to reschedule some events at the Beijing Games if it finds the level of air pollution to be a health threat to athletes. The decision to reschedule will be decided just before or even during the Games.

The IOC is currently analysing recent air quality reports sent by Beijing. Efforts to decrease air pollution in the Chinese city have included a trial test held last summer that took 1.3 million cars off of the road, plus the shut down of high-emission plants. Experts have called the plan unscientific.

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What's EPA Chief Stephen Johnson Doing in China?

Visit EPA's Trip Diary from China to view daily updates from Administrator Johnson and his staff on their trip to China for the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. From Dec. 10 to 15, 2007, EPA's official delegation will give a first-hand account of their trip through photos and diary entries which will be posted 2-3 times per day on EPA's Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/chinadiary

This diary will be an account of the official EPA delegation's visit to China and the agency's efforts to foster global environmental cooperation through the SED. Administrator Johnson will join Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other senior U.S. officials for the third cabinet level meeting of the SED.

This meeting will focus on integrity of trade, balanced economic development, energy conservation, financial sector reform, environmental sustainability, and advancing bilateral investment. The dialogue was launched by President Bush and President Hu in September 2006.

Blue Skies Over Beijing?

Beijing has completed its fourth day of experimental air pollution testing by taking 1.3 million cars temporarily off the road. The state-run news agency, Xinhua, proclaims the test a success with four "blue-sky days". But the lingering smog tells a different story.

As does some of the world's best endurance athletes competing in a test cycling event in Beijing over the weekend. Oenone Wood, an Australian cyclist in town for the event, said she had a difficult time seeing the surrounding scenery as she past by due to the lingering smog. Many athletes have expressed concerns that the heavy air pollution will affect their health during the games.

By temporarily side-lining about one third of Beijing's cars, Chinese officials have stated that there was an improvement in air quality such as lower NOx levels. However, the Chinese pollution rating system does not take into account the measurement of fine particulate matter and ozone levels. Both of these toxic pollutants can negatively impact health and seriously effect athletes performance during the upcoming 2008 Olympics.

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China View
The Canberra Times

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Caterpillar Generators Selected for Coal Methane Projects in Shanxi, China

Representatives of Caterpillar Inc. accompany James Connaughton, senior environmental and natural resources advisor to President George W. Bush, as he visited the Sihe Coal Mine in Jincheng city, Shanxi Province, China. Sihe is the world's largest coal methane power plant and will use 60 Caterpillar methane-gas-powered generator sets to create 120 megawatts of power when fully operational. Following the success of this project, Caterpillar has been selected to provide an additional 31 methane-gas-powered generator sets to produce 54 megawatts of power at the Cheng Zhuang and Mei Gan Shi coal mines in the same city in Shanxi Province.

"The United States and other nations including China are working together to set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases," said James Connaughton, who was appointed by President Bush in 2001 to serve as the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality. "Economic growth, energy security and climate change must be addressed in an integrated way. The Jincheng coal methane plants are excellent examples of how to increase energy use in an environmentally responsible way," Connaughton added. "We hope to advance more projects like these through the Asia-Pacific Partnership (APP) on Clean Development and Climate, which addresses growing energy demand by advancing clean energy technology development and deployment."

The Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Coal Mining Group Co., Ltd. is the project developer for all three coal methane power plants. Caterpillar will work closely with its dealer WesTrac China Limited on product commissioning and ongoing support for these projects. Methane gas found in coal seams can be highly volatile and it is a major cause of underground explosions. Historically it has been vented into the atmosphere. By capturing the previously vented methane gas and converting it into electricity, the Caterpillar generator sets will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve mine safety and increase the capacity of the local power grid.

"This is a major step forward in China's road to sustainable development and demonstrates positive bilateral trade relations between the United States and China," said Stu Levenick, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for Asia.

The 11th Five-Year Plan guiding China's development between 2006 and 2010 emphasizes that building a recyclable economy is an important way for China to build a resource-efficient and environment-friendly society, thus realizing sustainable development. China has set a goal of reducing the emissions of major pollutants by 10 percent during this five-year period. As part of the second Strategic Economic Dialogue, the United States and China have agreed to develop up to 15 large-scale coalmine methane capture and utilization projects in China in the next five years.

"Caterpillar is a long-term investor in China, and we are excited to see that China has positioned methane gas capture and utilization as a priority." said Rich Lavin, Chairman of Caterpillar (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and a Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for Asia Pacific manufacturing operations. "Our trade relations will continue to strengthen and produce on-going returns."

The 3500 series generators used in these projects are produced at Caterpillar's Large Engine Center in Lafayette, Indiana. "Caterpillar generator sets have been producing electricity around the world for nearly 70 years," said Bill Rohner, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the Electric Power Division. "We are pleased to be involved with these new opportunities in China."

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Caterpillar, Inc.

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Air Pollution News Bites: 08-02-07

- A recent study estimates that demand for air pollution control products in China will increase by 18 percent each year through 2010. The increase is attributed to the Chinese government’s plan to increase the purchase of air pollution control technology and new legislation concerning strict environmental protection regulations. Products in demand by China include: electrostatic precipitators, baghouse systems, particulate filters, and catalysts.

- A new analysis studying atmospheric “brown clouds” hovering over Asia, have concluded that the buildup of greenhouse gases mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels, is a major contributor to the melting of tropical glaciers such as those found in the Himalayans. Researchers found that combining the heating effect of greenhouse gases and the elements found in brown clouds, such as soot, heightens the effect of global warming.

"The conventional thinking is that brown clouds have masked as much as 50 percent of global warming by greenhouse gases through so-called global dimming," said atmospheric chemist V. Ramanathan. "While this is true globally, this study reveals that over southern and eastern Asia, the soot particles in the brown clouds are in fact amplifying the atmospheric warming trend caused by greenhouse gases by as much as 50 percent."

He went on to state, "It is likely that in curbing greenhouse gases we can tackle the twin challenges of climate change and brown clouds, and in doing so, reap wider benefits--from reduced air pollution to improved agricultural yields."

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MarketWire
National Science Foundation

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Air Pollution News for 07-24-07

- An organic chemist and two engineers from Wales believe they have developed the answer to our green house gas problem. “Greenbox” is technology that captures GHG emissions such as CO2 and NOx from a car, turning the vehicle’s emissions into mostly water vapor. The box captures emissions, holds the gases in an inert state, where they are then transported to a bioreactor where algae will turn the gases into biofuels. Eventually the Greenbox will be able to be used on most on vehicles, and possibly even buildings and power plants that emit greenhouse gases.

- The Coalition to Build a Cleaner California is asking new chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Mary Nichols to extend the deadline for reducing emissions on off-road diesel vehicles from 2020 to 2025. The Coalition is made up of representatives from the labor unions, construction companies and the airline industry. The construction industry believes that the proposed regulations will cost up to $13 billion and a loss of 30,000 jobs, causing many companies to retire old equipment, creating a loss of income and jobs. CARB and environmentalists believe that without strict regulations to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter and NOx, air pollution will put many lives at risk in California. An estimated 180,000 off-road diesel vehicles operate in the state.

- The LA Times reports that China has stopped two environmental reports that would have opened up embarrassing and serious facts on their increasing problems with air and water pollution. China is now considered the most polluted country in the world, with an estimated 600,000 citizens dieing each year due to air pollution. Although China is putting in place stringent regulations, enforcement is often spotty or not implemented at all due to attitudes by regional officials.

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LA Times

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China Fights Air Pollution

According to Industrial Info Resources, China shut down 156 small coal-fired power plants during the first six months of this year in an effort to reduce emissions and comply with a target set by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China. The total generating capacity of the power generation units is 5,510 megawatts and will meet 55% of emissions reductions set for 2007 by the NDRC.

Treehugger reports one million cars will be taken off Beijing roads in August for a two week trial to test new smog-control measures in an effort to reduce air pollution in anticipation of next year’s Beijing Olympics, representing 1/3 of the city’s cars. Last month, Beijing’s registered vehicles numbered 3 million, more than double from 5 years ago, with about 1,000 cars going on the road every day.

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China: Death by Air Pollution

Recent news on China’s devastating air pollution levels has garnered world attention. Here’s a run down on the facts from various news source:

• A World Bank report release at a Beijing conference in March, suggests 400,000 Chinese die every year due to outdoor air pollution. Reportedly Chinese officials tried to have these statistics removed from the report. The government denies they tried to cover-up the numbers.



• Two thirds of the electricity generated in China comes from coal-fired power plants, with the country holding 13 percent of the world’s reserves of coal. With coal being the top producer of greenhouse gas emissions, China is now producing more CO2 emissions than the United States, establishing itself as the No. 1 GHG producer in the world.



• An average of two coal-fired power plants a week are being built in China. Almost all of them are being built with out-dated equipment and no emissions control technology. Chinese utilities believe that using emissions control technology will decrease their power plant’s energy output. Because of this, they are resistant to retrofitting their plants with new technology.



• There is an ever increasing consensus from world scientists that China’s economic growth and the resulting greenhouse emissions will push our environment pass the tipping point of no return.



• China’s emissions from coal-fired power plants are increasing at an annual rate that is double the total emissions growth of all industrialized economies combined.



• China’s environmental agency is blaming public unrest and riots on anger stemming from pollution, with an increasing number of demonstrations taking place over power plant emissions and air pollution.


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Coal is Choking China

When the rest of the world is looking for ways to go green, China forges ahead in a cloud of black smoke. With 2,000 coal-fired powered plants emitting soot, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, China has plans to build another 500 power stations, adding to the toxic brew.

It’s estimated 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to pollution. The majority of Chinese citizens are concerned by the ever-worsening situation of their environment at the expense of economic growth. But most mayors and local government oppose any effort to protect the environment, worried that it may slow the economy.

“People can’t tolerate the pollution any longer but officials only care about their political achievements of hitting targets for growth. If this policy isn’t stopped, China will become a land where there are only graves, no people,” explained Yue Jianguo, a Chinese analyst.

China currently has 21,000 mines, with coal output doubling in the past five years. In 2007, the country used 2.5 billion tons of coal – and had the world’s highest miner casualty rate at 3,818 deaths and 2,456 accidents.

Yet local governments are unwilling to purchase filters or use western technology that could reduce emissions up to 95% from power plants.

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Times Online

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