Beijing Air Pollution

[azure1503559508]

I have not visited China myself although colleagues who have done so have remarked about the environmental degradation.

Australian track athletes shun Olympic opening ceremony

Australia's track and field athletes will not take part in the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, partly because of pollution problems, an official said Monday.

"The advice from experts in this area is that Beijing is not the best place to do the final preparations for competition for a whole range of reasons," Athletics Australia spokesman David Culbert told AFP.

Athletes at training camps in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia would not fly to Beijing for the opening ceremony on August 8, he said.

Asked whether pollution in Beijing was the main reason for avoiding the opening ceremony, Culbert said: "That's one reason but it's only one reason.

"It's a combination of factors, including the training facilities, whether the village is the best place to be or whether you're better off being outside the village.

"The heat, the humidity, the air quality, access to the training facilities, all of those things are a factor."

Culbert, however, pointed out that the athletics competition does not begin until the second week of the games.

Concern over air pollution in Beijing is a sensitive issue for the Chinese organisers of the Games.

Beijing's air quality is routinely rated among the worst in the world by international agencies, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, with the rising number of cars, industrial pollution and dust storms among the culprits.

China says it has spent 16 billion dollars over the past decade to improve the environment and air quality by shifting polluting factories out of the capital and raising car emissions standards, among other measures.

However, Beijing's poor environment remains a major concern for the International Olympic Committee and some athletes.

IOC chief Jacques Rogge last year said that endurance events could be postponed or cancelled to protect competitors' health during the August 8-24 Games.

Hoping to avoid that embarrassment, Beijing plans to ban around half the city's three-million-plus cars from the roads during the Games, while some factories will be closed down and construction work ordered to halt.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hr8VJy...0hp1uUT6c3_7QzA

Edited June 17, 2008 by azure

[DrP]

I took an invited tour of a factory in Shenzhen around '96. The air is as polluted as the AOC makes it out to be.

[momaw]

Yes beijing air is polluted (Shanghai's is worse), but, they have made a real effort in the last few years to clean up their act. If we or the US or any other developed country had gone thought the changes that have happened in China in the last few decades we would be just as polluted. Heck most western capital cities are getting pretty close as it is, but the difference is they are doing nothing to change it. I even saw a tv show in beijing where they placed hidden cameras and people won prizes just by putting litter in a bin rather than leaving it on the ground.

Then there is the amazing lake they have created in the olympic precinct which cleans all the water used in the facility and cleans the air.

So while they have a long way to go, they are putting in the effort. More than most western countries.

[azure1503559508]

Parts of Newcastle had the worst air pollution in the state . .country? until they moved the industries offshore,.. rather than clean up their acts many conglomos just move operations to a developing country.

[Dork(original)]

Seeing that we fund these Olympians,they should go to the opening ceremony.I want to be proud when they march out.What will it be two officials and a frickin dingo .Soft is what they be.Bah humbug .

Paul.

[DrP]

Not much point being proud if they can't breathe and therefore come last in their competition.

[momaw]

Not much point being proud if they can't breathe and therefore come last in their competition.

They are just being princesses. It won't affect their performance.

[DrP]

I'm sure that won't be the story when its not 100% gold all the way.

[Mining Man]

Parts of Newcastle had the worst air pollution in the state . .country? until they moved the industries offshore,.. rather than clean up their acts many conglomos just move operations to a developing country.

I vaguely remember at uni (why are uni memories always so vague?) being taught that a particular combination of topography and climate conditions 'funnelled' the polution from the Illawarra Steelworks directly into the suburb of Albion Park Rail (or maybe one of the adjacent ones?), which resulted in the highest measured amounts of atmospheric something or other in the developed world. Or something like that.

Never been to Beijing, but after all the talk about pollution before we went to Mexico City, we found Los Angeles to be worse.

I think I'm with Paul, though. If it's too bad to march in the opening ceremony, then it's too bad to even go. I trust we won't see any photos of these athletes out at night after their events, enjoying themselves in that unbreathable air.

[DigitalObserver]

Athletics is in the second week of the Olympic program. It would be very unusual for top athletes to be in the village that long prior to their events. To be in the opening ceremony the athletes would probably need to make two trips. This means two acclimatisation requirements (the risk period).

It is usual practice for elite athletes to prepare in a stress free and focussed environment in the same time zone and season as the host city.

On the matter of "we fund these Olympians" this is a huge exaggeration. In most instances athletes get a proportion of their costs via grants, most are supported by their own efforts or their families. There are almost NO Olympic athletes who make an income from their sport.

An elite athlete is all about managing their performance and achieving a personal best. Managing all the elements over which you have control is a major component of self management. Any serious athlete competing in the first few days of the Olympics is highly unlikely to involve actively in the opening ceremony. Some may sit in the stands. Rarely would they march.

[Roderick]

Well, I have been to Beijing twice, and I don't recall the air pollution as being particularly bad -- No! I tell a lie. It was bad the day we arrived the second time, two years ago. You could hardly see the ground thru the grey murk when we landed at the airport. However, some days are reasonably clear and sunny, so it's the luck of the draw really.

People who live in Beijing tell me there are some days when you can't see the ground from an eighth-story apartment!

I do remember that Wuhan and Chungking in central China were particulaly bad at certain times of year. When we visited the Three Gorges Dam you could not see the other end of the dam through the grey gunk. Shanghai was not too good, either.

They say that most of the air pollution on a clear day in Los Angeles comes from China!

I think a lot of the pollution in Beijing comes from central China when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, so efforts to clean up the air around Beijing may be of little help some days. Perhaps the athletes should make up their minds to march, or not to march, on the day.

My eldest daughter, who studied in China and speaks fluent Mandarin, says that most Chinese think the sun's natural colour is deep red, and not yellow. They did not believe her about the yellow sun, because they have never seen the sun through unpolluted skies!

Rod

[Thudd1503560234]

The pollution in Beijing is as bad as they say. I didn't see the sun the whole time I was there and I'd wager there are residents there who haven't been out of the city that have never seen the sun in their life. Within two days my eyes were red and my throat felt raw. (mind you there are other places that are as bad, if not worse. Xi'an was a gray smoky hellhole that I couldn't wait to leave, and Chongqing was not only blanketed in smog but was over 40 degrees as well)

It's not the kind of street-level grime pollution that you get in, say, Bangkok, but a pervasive atmospheric smog that just hangs and hangs and gives a pallid shade of gray to everything.

While I am sure that many of the Olympic athletes are disappointed at not being able to attend the opening ceremony, I entirely understand and sympathise with their reasons at choosing (or being told) not to. If I was competing I'd be spending as little time in the open air as possible there.

So while they have a long way to go, they are putting in the effort.

I suspect that's only the case because they know the eyes of the world will be upon them. Edited June 18, 2008 by Thudd

[Roderick]

The pollution in Beijing is as bad as they say. I didn't see the sun the whole time I was there and I'd wager there are residents there who haven't been out of the city that have never seen the sun in their life. ....

You will lose your wager, Thudd. My first visit to Beijing was in December, and the weather was cold but sunny for most of the week. You could definitely see the sun. Ditto my second visit in August, except it was very hot. The day we went to the summer palace was vey sunny indeed. I got sun burnt! .

That is not to say you can't experience weeks of heavy pollution -- as you did, Thudd.

Rod

Edited June 18, 2008 by Roderick

[DrP]

Are you sure that was sunburn and not chemical burns from the smog?

[azure1503559508]

While I am sure that many of the Olympic athletes are disappointed at not being able to attend the opening ceremony, I entirely understand and sympathise with their reasons at choosing (or being told) not to. If I was competing I'd be spending as little time in the open air as possible there.

I'm with Thudd here, I feel the athlete's health is paramount here..

China 'buried smog death finding

The World Bank is alleged to have cut from a report research that suggests pollution causes hundreds of thousands of premature deaths annually in China.

The move followed pressure from Beijing, which believes the material is too sensitive and could lead to social unrest, said the UK's Financial Times.

It said information was cut from the forthcoming report after requests from two Chinese government departments.

The World Bank told the BBC the final version had not yet been finalised.

But a statement added: "[A preliminary] version of the report did not include some of the issues that are still under discussion."

The Financial Times said the Bank report, entitled 'Cost of Pollution in China', found up to 760,000 people die prematurely each year in China because of air and water pollution.

High levels of air pollution in China's cities leads to 350,000-400,000 premature deaths, it said. Another 300,000 die because of poor-quality air indoors.

The newspaper article, quoting World Bank advisers and Chinese officials, also said research showing that there are 60,000 premature deaths each year because of poor-quality water was also left out of the report.

'Social unrest'

"The World Bank was told that it could not publish this information. It was too sensitive and could cause social unrest," one adviser to the study told the Financial Times.

It said the bank "reluctantly" agreed to take out the sensitive information.

The World Bank told the BBC that information for the report, which is being compiled in conjunction with the Chinese government, was still under review.

A World Bank spokeswoman refused to say whether or not statistics about premature deaths were amongst the information taken out of the initial version.

Despite the apparent dispute over figures, the preliminary World Bank report published in March suggests air and water pollution do lead to an increased number of deaths in China.

It also says the total cost of air and water pollution in the country amounts to about 5.8% of gross domestic product.

According to the Financial Times, China's State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) and its health ministry asked the World Bank to cut out the reference to the specific number of pollution-related deaths.

The BBC could not reach anyone at Sepa to comment on the issue.

But the government department is certainly aware of China's pollution problems. Last month it said about 60% of Chinese cities regularly suffer from air pollution and have no centralised sewage treatment facilities.

The final World Bank report is due to be released soon.

The organisation has previously said that China is home to 16 of the world's 20 most-polluted cities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6265098.stm

[momaw]

Do you enjoy putting the boot into others azure? Have you been there?

Edited June 18, 2008 by momaw

[Roderick]

Do you enjoy putting the boot into others azure? Have you been there?

With a name like 'azure', the anti-air pollution stance is understandable. The name conjures up images of beautifully clean azure-blue skies, only seen in places like Antarctica.

Although much of China is abysmally polluted, you do get blue skys in parts, and at the right time of year.

I think it would be a great pity if at least some of the Australian contingent did not march in the opening ceremony. The final marching list should not be made up until the state of the air pollution is known on the day. If badly polluted, the endurance athetes should be excused first.

Rod

Edited June 18, 2008 by Roderick

[azure1503559508]

With a name like 'azure', the anti-air pollution stance is understandable. . .

When a colleague told me of the decision yesterday, like others here, I initially thought it was an "overreaction."

Although after reading the article above, I can now fully understand the concern/decision.

[hatch1959]

I'm with Thudd here, I feel the athlete's health is paramount here..

Did the IOC actually look into the pollution problem in China in regard to althlete's health???

Any place that can make a cartoon out of the Mascots for the Games must be

ROTFLMAO

It depicts beautiful blue skies, no fighting within their people..me thinks it must be *La La Land*