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July, 2008:

Clean Up Your Act In The Kitchen

Jul 16th, 2008
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Elizabeth Horscroft – Updated on Jul 16, 2008 – SCMP

If you are serious about reducing your energy consumption and helping the planet, the second thing to do once you’ve turned off your air conditioner, is to green your kitchen.

The kitchen is an energy hog in the home, largely due to the number of appliances that feed off electricity. Yet experts say that creating an eco-friendly kitchen goes beyond changing what you can see, and includes strategies such as improving air quality and eradicating the use of toxic chemicals.

Going green can have its pitfalls though, as it means asking if the products you are buying are actually as green as the manufacturer claims they are.

“We have to consider how the product is made and where [the company that makes it] disposes of its waste in order for it to be truly environmentally friendly,” said Diane Urmeneta, an interior designer with IF Collection.

Bruce Harwood, general manager of Palladio Kitchens, agreed. “Only if they can show a certificate can you trust it. I imagine that many local suppliers would not be able to do that because their products are made in China in factories they have no control over. It might not be as environmentally friendly as you had hoped.”

Another drawback is the cost. While the quality and designs have improved in recent years and rival the more conventional products, prices for these niche items are high.

Mr Harwood estimated that it would cost 5 to 10 per cent more to have an environmentally friendly kitchen fitted. He said clients in Hong Kong rarely asked for green options in their kitchen designs, and it was not high on their priority list. But energy-efficient appliances were a more common request.

The flipside of high initial costs is improved energy efficiency over time, cleaner indoor air and a reduced impact on the environment.

Appliances and lighting

Appliances with a Grade 1 Energy Efficiency label are the best way to curb energy consumption and save money. Energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs and dimmer switches for overhead lighting are more energy efficient and last longer, although they are more expensive. Replace old, inefficient hot water heaters with one central gas heater. Simon Damman, a contractor and director of OzWorks, said: “The instantaneous ones only heat the water that is being used, unlike the big tanks that heat water all the time. Cost-wise, they are better than electric [water heaters].”

Indoor air quality

Proper home ventilation is essential for good health. Cooking fumes and gases from flooring, paint, cabinets and countertops all contribute to indoor air pollution.

Mr Harwood said a kitchen window was not enough. Installing a cooker hood with powerful extract ventilation was your best defence for clean indoor air. “If you have an open kitchen it is a good idea to add an additional extract motor on the outside end of the extract duct,” he said. This would assist the cooker hood’s motor and increase its pulling power.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted by paints and wood preservatives, so choose low-VOC paints and low-VOC wood. This is important because exposure to VOC gas is associated with everything from eye, nose and throat irritation to cancer.

Countertops, cabinets, flooring

If you are renovating your kitchen, consider reusing existing materials. If you are buying new, choose materials that are made from recycled or renewable resources.

Unfortunately, this won’t always be easy. Many speciality green products available overseas, such as innovative countertops made from recycled paper or hemp, are not widely available in Hong Kong. But, Mr Harwood said, it was not impossible to get them.”Everything is possible if you want to bring it in.”

If a limited budget and time do not allow for importing, the better options for natural countertops easily sourced in Hong Kong are glass, stone and tiles, including mosaics. Mosaics are the original eco-friendly tile, using broken chips from larger pieces of glass, stone or other material.

Ms Urmeneta preferred to use engineered stone, an aggregate of stone chips and dust bound by cement or resin. as a low-cost alternative to quarrying huge granite or marble slabs.

For cabinets Mr Harwood recommended medium-density fibreboard, made in a similar way by binding wood chips with resin. But choose boards that were made to European specifications and were low in formaldehyde, or the gases they emitted could be harmful to your health. Certain solid oaks grown commercially in Europe from sustainable sources are another option. The jury is still out on bamboo. Although it is a fast-growing plant with enviable properties for cabinets and flooring, the standards of harvesting and processing can vary.

Mr Damman suggested foregoing wood altogether, as it was not practical flooring for Hong Kong’s climate. Stone tiles, concrete, and even seagrass or wool carpets would be more eco-friendly alternatives, depending on the company that manufactured them.

Kitchen chemicals

Jo Bryce, a programme director at Ark Eden, a Lantau Island-based environmental organisation, said: “If you wouldn’t eat it or put it on your skin, then don’t use it in your house. Chemical cleaning agents pollute indoor air and our water supplies.”

She said bicarbonate of soda was a natural and inexpensive multipurpose alternative. “It has scouring power and removes stains and odours.”

She said white vinegar (for windows), diluted essential oil of lavender (fabric softener), and diluted lemongrass and tea-tree oil (disinfectant) were other environmentally friendly alternatives.

Carbon footprint

The hidden cost of all eco-friendly products in Hong Kong is in the use of petroleum. Experts say that if it is imported, it will have a carbon footprint associated with its transport. This is the great irony of eco-friendly products such as low-phosphate detergents.

Sam Bevan, director of the British Council’s Climate Cool project, said: “I used to buy these more in Britain, but I must confess to not using them much over here, partly because of availability and cost, and also because I have concerns about the transport factor.”

Recycling

The easiest start to a green kitchen is also its cornerstone – recycling, in any of its many guises from reusing aluminium foil to composting. “This can significantly reduce the amount of waste you are sending to landfills,” Ms Bevan said.

Australia Seeks A Climate Of Persuasion

Jul 16th, 2008
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Greg Barns – Updated on Jul 16, 2008 – SCMP

China is looming large over the Australian government’s efforts to tackle climate change. That was made clear this week in a clash between two economic heavyweights: Harvard University’s Jeffrey Sachs and the Australian governments’ chief climate change adviser, Ross Garnaut.

Professor Garnaut, a former ambassador to China, has been heading a taskforce on climate change policy. Appointed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd shortly after he assumed office in November last year, Professor Garnaut has recently released a report which has, as its centrepiece, an emissions trading scheme.

The introduction of such a scheme, which will effectively tax heavy greenhouse gas emitters, is not dependent on the introduction of similar schemes overseas, particularly in major polluters such as China and India. And this is where the controversy lies.

Speaking at the Australian National University’s annual China Update on Monday, Professor Sachs, who advises UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said that China would never sign up to any emissions trading scheme.

According to media reports, Professor Sachs said: “We’re going to get agreement by showing a path, and saying to [nations like] China, first, we understand that your desire to catch up [in living standards] is non-negotiable. Yes, we need [carbon] pricing. I actually believe it will come country by country, and not by a global agreement.”

Professor Garnaut disagrees. Under his plan, Australia should move quickly to introduce an emissions trading scheme and seek to influence countries like China, India and Indonesia to follow suit. As he said last week: “The arithmetic of solving the global problem doesn’t work unless China plays a substantial role from an early date.”

The message that Professor Sachs conveyed to Australia is manna from heaven for those who argue that Australia should not sacrifice economic growth for the sake of showing global leadership on climate change, while China continues on its merry way.

Some unions and businesses fear that, if Australia heads down the path of an emissions trading scheme while China does not, investment will simply relocate.

So is Australia being gullible in thinking that it can persuade China to take radical action on climate change in the short term by introducing an emissions trading scheme? Maybe, but Australia has never been better placed to work with China given Professor Garnaut’s credentials and, of course, those of Mr Rudd – the only western leader to speak Putonghua.

There were similar voices of doom when Australia began to radically reduce trade barriers two decades ago. Since then, trade flows between Australia and Asia have soared as a result of greater trade liberalisation. And one of the architects of Australia’s bold trade strategy was Professor Garnaut, as economic adviser to prime minister Bob Hawke in the 1980s.

Greg Barns is a political commentator in Australia and a former Australian government adviser

Ban On Idling Vehicles Likely

Jul 14th, 2008
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HK Standard – (2008-07-14 13:46:38)

The green policy to ban idling vehicle engines look set to be launched within the next 12 months, Secretary for Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah said today.

Yau said both the public and the district councils had come to a consensus that Hong Kong had to move ahead with the policy to protect the environment despite the concerns expressed by the transport sector.

A five-month public consultation on the proposal to ban idling vehicle engines ended in March.

The government document suggests if a driver does not switch off his vehicle’s engine when it is idle, he will fined HK$320.

Shougang Steel Announces Games Output Cut

Jul 14th, 2008
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Reuters in Beijing – Updated on Jul 14, 2008

One of China’s biggest steel makers, Shougang, has announced it will slash production at its Beijing plant, bowing to pressure to help clean the city’s grimy skies for the Olympic Games.

Shougang Iron and Steel Group will “limit production during the 2008 Olympic Games period, reducing as far as possible pollution emissions during the Games period,” it said in a statement over the weekend on the website for the Shenzhen stock exchange, where the Group is listed.

Confirming earlier statements, the Group said that in the third quarter output of iron, steel and steel products at its Beijing plant will shrink by 50 per cent compared with the same period last year.

It will produce 540,000 tonnes of iron, 560,000 tonnes of crude steel and 550,000 tonnes of steel products in the third quarter, it said.

It had run at higher rates earlier to ensure yearly production of 4 million tonnes from its Beijing mill.

Beijing’s chronic pollution has been one of the biggest headaches for Games organisers, who have vowed that restrictions on traffic and factories will bring blue skies and easy breathing for athletes during the Games, from August 8-24.

The Chinese capital is just weeks away from the Games. Rain and winds brought blue skies on Saturday, but humid, overcast weather over past weeks has often kept city residents wheezing in a shroud of haze, dust and fumes.

Shougang, whose name means “Capital Steel”, is the worst polluter in the city. It is moving production to a 10 million tonne, state-of-the-art mill on the nearby coast of Hebei province that is slated to be fully ready by 2010.

Shougang was originally due to end all operations at its mill in the west of the city before the Olympics, but now plans to fully close that plant by the end of 2010.

City officials told Shougang to restrict production to 200,000 tonnes per month over the Games period, a cut that will reduce its emissions by 70 per cent, a company executive said last year.

The Shougang announcement did not say when it will begin the production cuts, but the Beijing government issued rules in April ordering industrial firms such as Shougang Group to reduce or stop production from July 20.

As part of the Games anti-pollution drive, hundreds of factories in provinces surrounding Beijing will also face production cuts or freezes over coming weeks.

From July 1, vehicles that fail to meet emissions standards have been banned from entering downtown Beijing. And from July 20, Beijing will launch a traffic control system to take half of the city’s 3 million cars off the road, using an odd-even licence plate system.

Entrepreneur Floats Plan For Seaplanes To Macau

Jul 14th, 2008
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Scheduled service awaiting approval from government

Gary Cheung – Updated on Jul 14, 2008 – SCMP

Seaplanes flying over Victoria Harbour and taking passengers to and from Macau will become a reality in the foreseeable future if the government approves a plan to relaunch the flights, which form part of the collective memory of Hongkongers.

WaterfrontAir, a firm founded by Canadian entrepreneur Michael Agopsowicz, plans to operate a scheduled seaplane service between a new Kai Tai Waterfront Aerodrome and the Pak On ferry terminal near Macau’s Cotai Strip.

The company intends to use a fleet of 18-seater DHC-6 Twin Otter floatplanes for the flights, which would take about 20 minutes.

It plans to create a licensed water aerodrome opposite the old Kai Tak airport runway.

Passengers would be taken to the Kowloon City ferry pier after the seaplanes landed.

The Tourism Commission and the Tourism Board have given their backing to the proposal because it would enhance Hong Kong’s appeal as a city with diversity and fun. But the project first needs to pass an environmental-impact assessment.

Mr Agopsowicz, also director of the company, said he would look for investors for the project and planned to commission an environmental-impact assessment and a noise- impact assessment in the second half of the year.

The firm plans to charge about HK$1,500 for a one-way trip, compared with HK$2,200 to HK$2,400 for a helicopter trip between Hong Kong and Macau or about HK$150 for a jetfoil. It plans to run 20 flights a day.

The firm estimates 150,000 visitors will take the trips every year.

Mr Agopsowicz said he discussed the concept with Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing Francis Ho Suen-wai on March 18.

In a letter to Mr Agopsowicz on May 5, the bureau said: “From the aviation point of view, we have no objection in principle to your idea, but the feasibility of the idea hinges on the satisfactory resolution of a wide range of technical issues.”

A bureau spokeswoman said these issues concerned the feasibility of the idea from the perspectives of civil aviation, district planning, land-use planning, environmental impact and interface with marine activities.

“The Tourism Commission considers that an alternative means of fast transportation to Macau should be a [welcome] addition to enhance connectivity and choice. The seaplanes championed by you look attractive and elegant, and are good for leisure travel,” the bureau said in its letter to Mr Agopsowicz.

The commission was of the view that the plan would enhance Hong Kong’s appeal.

In a letter to Mr Agopsowicz last month, Tourism Board executive director Anthony Lau Chun-hon said: “Not only can the service offer users the opportunity to view Hong Kong’s spectacular skyline and cityscape over Victoria Harbour, it can also strengthen Hong Kong’s image as a major cosmopolitan city.”

Scheduled seaplanes between Hong Kong and Macau were operated between the 1930s and 1950s.

Mr Agopsowicz said seaplanes did not have a significant environmental impact. “They compare very favourably to conventional motorised boats in terms of air and water pollution,” he said.

He added that the DHC-6 planes he planned to deploy for the services were much quieter than helicopters and the service would operate in daytime only.

Mr Agopsowicz said seaplane services did not require a huge amount of investment and he estimated that the start-up investment for the project would be below US$5 million.

Bruce Liu Sing-lee, Kowloon City district councillor representing the Kai Tak constituency, said he would support the proposal if the noise level was acceptable.

“I think the seaplane services would create a substantial number of job opportunities for the neighbourhood and the whole Kowloon City district,” Mr Liu said.

Rain vs. Pollution in June

Jul 13th, 2008
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Thought clean air was the silver lining in rainy June? Think again

Elaine Wu – Updated on Jul 13, 2008 – SCMP

Many thought that if there was something worth celebrating about the 24 days of rain last month, it would be that the air would be cleaner.

Rain normally washes pollutants from the air. Not last month.

Although June was Hong Kong’s wettest month in 125 years of recorded weather history, Environmental Protection Department figures show pollution was far worse than in the same month in 2007 and 2006.

The department recorded 47 hours of high air pollution levels, compared to 16 hours in June last year and only 3.5 hours in June 2006.

This has everyone – from meteorologists to clean-air advocates – scratching their heads.

“I don’t have a clue as to why we would have more high-air-pollution index [API] days,” Leung Wing-mo, senior scientific officer at the Hong Kong Observatory, said.

“When it is raining, the suspended particulates and other pollutants will normally be washed away. We have had only six days without rain for the whole month.”

Air pollution index readings are categorised as low, medium, high, very high and severe. Levels last month were low to high.

Christian Masset, chairman of Clear the Air, said his organisation had already sought expert help to understand the phenomenon.

“I can’t recall [this happening before],” he said. “There is something we don’t know that we need to understand. There must be a link with heavier rain and air pollution.”

A departmental spokeswoman said that while rain does affect air quality in the short run, other factors such as wind direction, wind speed, solar radiation, cloud cover, humidity and temperature played a role.

She said it was not appropriate to gauge air quality by comparing data from a certain month with that from the same month a year earlier.

“A more scientific way to assess whether air quality is improving or deteriorating is to look at the changes in average pollutant concentrations on an annual basis,” she said.

The department found that average air pollutant concentrations last year were comparable to levels in 2005 and 2006, and better than those in 2004, she said.

Christine Loh Kung-wai, chief executive of think-tank Civic Exchange, said: “When there is a lot of rain, the rain does pat down emissions temporarily. But we must not forget that pollution is being emitted all the time.

“As for wind, if the wind is strong and blows away the pollution, that’s when we have clearer days. The summer months have the best visibility due to wind direction. This does not mean pollution is not being emitted, it is just being carried elsewhere faster.”

Green Bill May Target Electronics

Jul 13th, 2008
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Loretta Fong – Updated on Jul 13, 2008 – SCMP

Electrical appliances could be one of the next categories of goods targeted by the Eco-Product Responsibility Bill, the environment chief said yesterday.

The bill, which aims to provide a legal framework for manufacturer responsibility schemes, first set its sights on plastic bags, which are to be taxed by the middle of next year.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Secretary for Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah said the administration would take into account the amount of pollution produced and the timeliness of a category of products when deciding which would be next regulated under the bill.

“With economic growth, consumer spending incentives will also increase. It is often quite common for people to dump electrical appliances,” he said.

Waste such as tyres and plastic containers were also on the list for consideration, he added.

Mr Yau also said the 50 cent tax on plastic bags would be implemented by the middle of next year. He said the government was still working out the details.

“Subsidiary legislation will be required when implementing the bill. We will use our time during the summer vacation before the next legislative term, so as to get ready for working out the details,” he said.

“And a working team will be formed for scrutinising the legislation in the new term. I hope the scrutiny will go fast and the bill will soon be implemented.”

On Thursday, lawmakers approved a 50 cent tax on bags handed out in stores.

Mr Yau said that at this stage it would be hard to estimate how many plastic bags would be saved every year as a result of the tax.

However, he said he hoped that through legislation it could help the public and business community gradually change their habits on the use of plastic bags.

US Experts Back Down On Climate Change Proposal

Jul 13th, 2008
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Watchdog bows to Bush pressure

Associated Press in Washington – Updated on Jul 13, 2008

The administration of US President George W. Bush, dismissing the recommendations of its experts, has rejected regulating the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, saying it would cripple the US economy.

In a 588-page notice, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made no finding on whether global warming posed a threat to people’s health or welfare, reversing an earlier conclusion at the insistence of the White House.

The White House on Thursday rejected the EPA’s suggestion three weeks earlier that the 1970 Clean Air Act could be effective for addressing climate change. The EPA said on Friday that the law was ill-suited for dealing with global warming.

“If our nation is truly serious about regulating greenhouse gases, the Clean Air Act is the wrong tool for the job,” EPA administrator Stephen Johnson said. “It is really at the feet of Congress.”

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Mr Bush was committed to further reductions, but that there was a “right way and a wrong way to deal with climate change”.

The wrong way was “to sharply increase gasoline prices, home heating bills and the cost of energy for American businesses”, she said. “The right way, as the president has proposed, is to invest in new technologies.”

At the just-concluded Group of Eight summit in Japan, Mr Bush and other world leaders called for a voluntary 50 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases worldwide by 2050, but offered no specifics on how to reach that goal. The Supreme Court ruled last year that the government had the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant, but Mr Bush has opposed doing that.

Congress has not found the will to do much about the problem, either. Supporters of regulating greenhouse gases managed to get only 48 votes in the 100-member Senate last month. The House of Representatives has held several hearings on the problem but no votes on any bill addressing it. Both major presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, have endorsed variations of the approach rejected by the Senate.

In its document, the EPA laid out a buffet of options on how to reduce greenhouse gases from cars, power plants and factories. On Friday Mr Johnson called the proposals drafted by his staff “putting a square peg into a round hole” and said moving forward would be irresponsible.

“One point is clear: the potential regulation of greenhouse gases under any portion of the Clean Air Act could result in unprecedented expansion of EPA authority that would have a profound effect on virtually every sector of the economy and touch every household in the land,” Mr Johnson wrote.

Attorneys general from several states called the administration’s findings inadequate.

“The time has long passed for open-ended pondering – what we need now is action,” said Attorney General Martha Coakley of Massachusetts, which initiated the Supreme Court case.

The EPA said it had encountered resistance from the agriculture, commerce, energy and transport departments, as well as the White House, which made it “impossible” to respond in a timely fashion to the Supreme Court decision.

Friday’s action caps months of often tense negotiations between EPA scientists and the White House over how to address global warming. They ended with the White House citing “extraordinary circumstances” and refusing to review the draft forwarded last month by EPA scientists.

The latest document is much more cautious than a determination made in December by the agency, which found greenhouse gases endangered public welfare. It also appears to counteract the findings of drafts released in May and last month, which found the Clean Air Act could be an effective tool for reducing greenhouse gases.

Who’ll Call The Shots On Smog?

Jul 13th, 2008
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It’s still not clear who’ll call the shots on smog

26 days to go

Peter Simpson – Updated on Jul 13, 2008 – SCMP

There’s the mouthwatering prospect of many an Olympic showdown in 26 days, and two burning questions remain unanswered.

The first: will China beat the US in the medal count? No one can be sure but the smart money is on the home side.

The second is more opaque, more difficult to determine, yet its outcome might well determine the reputations of several key Olympic personalities that have emerged in this seven-year saga.

After contradictory comments this week by senior International Olympic Committee members, there is the prospect of a clash of opinions among Games chiefs gathered around the various monitoring systems that will measure air safety levels.

Confusion has long reigned over just how Beijing Environment Protection Bureau (BEPB) officials have been measuring the capital’s air.

To what standards, how and where they are taken, and what particular pollutants were being measured, has left many scratching their heads and others suspecting cover-ups and bogus figures.

From all the negatives that Games organiser Bocog has had to endure and overcome, it is its oldest bugbear – smog – that now threatens to tarnish the much-deserved universal praise for preparing what is expected to be one of the greatest Olympics.

It has been well documented that international experts are satisfied that outside events under one hour pose no long-term health risk to athletes. However, events that last more than an hour can lead to long-term lung and other respiratory damage.

But who will call the shots should the air prove too dangerous for endurance sports such as the marathons, race walking and road cycle races?

The answer, until this week, was perhaps one of the clearest, tangible elements to be seen through the smog that plagues the Olympic capital and which provided an unwelcome backdrop to the IOC’s final inspection.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has stated on several occasions – reiterated firmly, in fact – he will order the postponement of endurance events if the air quality is poor.

The IOC’s chief spokeswoman, Giselle Davies, underscored Rogge’s unquestionable authority this week.

“There is no change in that we [the IOC] shall determine whether endurance events will be postponed,” she said.

“There is a process in place during Games time to reschedule and we will activate it. We will be getting information [on the air quality] from the authorities on a daily basis, as well as their predictions for the next day,” she said.

“BEPB will share their data with us, Bocog and the international sports federations. And it will then be decided if the mechanism for rescheduling an event will be used.

“We have to work on the basis of trust and work with the data provided by the host nation.”

It’s expected every national team, as well as the international sports federations, will bring their own air-quality monitors.

The IOC will also dispatch a medical-cum-air testing taskforce of its own, headed by the chairman of the IOC medical commission, Arne Ljungqvist, to also inspect the air.

The reason for so many beeping monitors? BEPB has come in for the some stick over the past year, notably over its PM10 metre readings of dust and vehicle emission particles.

PM10, according to BEPB, rarely if ever strays into the danger zone but hovers around the upper limit of acceptable air quality deemed safe by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In January, respected environmental consultant Steven Andrews claimed BEPB officials had been fudging the city’s air-quality data by eliminating readings from some monitoring stations in heavily-congested areas. BEPB has repeatedly denied this.

However, tit-for-tat claims and denials would both be rendered redundant by the IOC, which has the ultimate responsibility to protect the athletes who compete under the organisation’s five rings. If a dispute arose on the day of the women’s marathon, say, with BEPB and Bocog officials arguing the air was safe and independent air testers arguing otherwise, Rogge would intervene and order a postponement.

He would do so no matter the humiliation felt by the hosts who have worked so hard and for so long to get the party perfect, only to see it tainted by the one element it believed it could control.

But doubt as to who calls the shots was cast this week by another senior IOC member.

Press commission chairman Kevan Gosper stressed that any rescheduling would be made only after consultations with Bocog and would “be a joint decision”.

“We will not overrule Bocog [on pollution concerns],” he said firmly.

“Every decision during the Games, as over the past seven years of preparation, will be done with close consultation with Bocog, as it is at every Games. Any postponement will be a joint decision. We have full confidence in the air quality data provided.”

This given, and with the stakes so high for both the IOC and Bocog to deliver on their promises, one would gladly pay more for a disguise as a fly on the wall at any potential stand-off over between what is safe air and what is not, than for an opening ceremony ticket on eBay.

Moreover, the reputations and risk assessment capabilities of many will be determined by a Games free of pollution.

For Rogge, et al, being seen to kowtow to a host city and accept data that might be skewed to allow an endurance event to go ahead, could cause many to suggest the Olympic family has given in to an overbearing sibling.

Like the shiny new buildings that dot Olympic Beijing’s skyline, the answer to just who will call the shots on air-quality judgment day is far from clear.

Air Pollution Won’t Harm Games

Jul 12th, 2008
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Air pollution won’t harm Games, says Rogge

Associated Press in Lausanne – Updated on Jul 12, 2008

Air pollution won’t damage the Beijing Olympics, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge says.

“We are confident that atmospheric pollution will have no major impact on the Olympic Games,” Dr Rogge said on Thursday, less than a month before the Games begin.

In eight days’ time, Beijing is to implement new traffic regulations that are expected to take more than 1 million of the city’s 3.3 million cars off the streets and close factories and heavy industry in provinces surrounding the capital. The IOC medical commission has said athletes might have breathing problems in endurance events of more than one hour, such as the marathon.

If pollution levels exceed limits recommended by the World Health Organisation, those events could be rescheduled.

“I don’t think this is something that will happen very often,” Dr Rogge said.

He said the Olympics would also restore joy, hope and pride to a nation still coming to terms with the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province two months ago that left nearly 88,000 people dead or missing and 5 million homeless.

Dr Rogge also insisted that despite journalists’ fears of restrictions and censorship, the media would have freedom to move and work in Beijing.

“Never will the media have had so many possibilities as today,” he said. “Nothing is perfect and we are pushing very hard to get the maximum out of it [media conditions].

“Today I think any objective observer must say that this is something new and this is something that will have a lasting legacy in China.”

Dr Rogge said he hoped to see the cleanest, most drug-free Olympics in modern times because of a comprehensive anti-doping programme. A total of 4,500 doping controls will be carried out, including an improved test for human growth hormone.

The IOC has also promised to call in the nation’s police to investigate suspected drug-supply rings.

“I believe that today we are very, very close to the cheats,” Dr Rogge said. “I wouldn’t say level par, but very, very close to the cheats and far closer than we used to be a couple of years ago.

“The IOC will do everything that is humanly possible to have the cleanest possible Games.”

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