Clear The Air News Blog Rotating Header Image

April, 2008:

US Candidates Avoid Hard Facts On Cuts In Greenhouse Gases

Apr 21st, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Agence France-Presse in Washington – Updated on Apr 21, 2008

All three White House hopefuls say global warming is a priority – but all avoid the politically unpopular details of slashing harmful emissions, experts say.

Environmentalists agree that any of the candidates would be an improvement over US President George W. Bush, whose term expires in 2009 and who vowed last week to cap emissions from the United States, a leading world polluter, after 2025.

But while green groups fret over whether the next president will be aggressive enough, business groups caution that job losses and spiking energy prices will accompany any efforts to put a mandatory halt to pollution.

Senator John McCain, 71, the likely Republican nominee, is the least favourite among environmentalists even though he is considered unusually green for a conservative.

He supports the use of nuclear energy to limit carbon emissions and reduce US dependence on oil from abroad, and has not specified mandatory levels for capping emissions or use of renewable energy.

“Everyone knows that John McCain has been a leader in the fight against global climate change and he believes the time for action is now,” his spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

Asked if Mr Bush’s proposal went far enough, Mr Bounds said the president’s speech offered a chance for the world “to welcome an important ally in working against carbon emissions and other issues. That’s the extent of what I’m going to say about it”.

Senator McCain has drawn criticism from the League of Conservation Voters for being inconsistent in his Senate votes on environmental issues. Greenpeace said his support for nuclear power was impractical.

“To avoid the most significant impacts of global warming we need to make significant reductions within a seven-year window. Nuclear will not get us there because it takes 10 years or more to build a nuclear plant,” Greenpeace spokeswoman Jane Kochersperger said.

“The problem is we need to have substantive discussions about the viability in terms of technology as well as jobs and the environment.”

Cathy Duvall, political director of the Sierra Club, the largest US environmental group, called Senator McCain’s solutions “outdated”.

Democrat senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are nearly identical in their stances on the environment: both support a system of mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions coupled with a trading system of allowances, called “cap and trade”.

Both also want renewable energy to supply 25 per cent of the US economy’s needs by 2025, to slash carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, higher fuel efficiency standards and bigger biofuel reserves by 2030.

“We haven’t made a determination of one over the other,” said David Sandretti, spokesman for the League of Conservation Voters which, like the Sierra Club, has yet to make a political endorsement.

The campaigns of Senator Obama and Senator Clinton did not respond to requests for comment.

Greenpeace has also struggled to get specifics, according to Ms Kochersperger, who blamed the close Democratic race for the nomination and the battle for blue-collar votes ahead of the crucial primary in the state of Pennsylvania tomorrow.

Democrats “don’t want to rile those voters at this juncture. They are not being completely honest about what needs to be done”, she said.

Job cuts could arise from coal plant closures, and higher energy prices could force US businesses to move their factories abroad, according to William Kovacs, vice-president of environmental issues at the US Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber does not endorse any presidential candidates, but supports expanded use of nuclear energy and is opposed to cap-and-trade legislation, known as the Warner-Lieberman bill, which is being debated in the US Senate.

The bill will “literally legislate prices higher because you will restrict the ability to use energy”, Mr Kovacs said, adding that any new US laws should not harm the economy, be international in scope and based on usable technology.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has estimated the legislation would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent in 2030 and cut gross domestic product by between US$238 billion and US$983 billion. Electricity prices would rise 44 per cent in 2030 and 26 per cent in 2050, it said.

But environmental groups say the long-term benefits to the Earth are far greater. “We feel that these dire predictions are unfounded, and do not even begin to touch on the health benefits of making air and water cleaner,” Mr Sandretti said.

Simple Solution

Apr 19th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Updated on Apr 19, 2008 – SCMP

When I walk along the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui and look across Victoria Harbour, instead of ships and birds in the sky, I see only sooty smog.

I agree with those correspondents who blame emission from vehicles for much of this air pollution. Some people have urged drivers to switch to public transport, but this is unlikely to happen, because they want the freedom that private car ownership brings them. However, what car owners can do is check if their cars have a catalytic convertor and if not, get it installed. Such a device can reduce the toxicity of the emissions and most car owners could afford to do this.

We all have to confront the problem of air pollution if we want to keep the scenic splendour of Victoria Harbour and vehicle owners must also play their part.

Tom Cheung Pui-hang, Western district

Athletes’ Feathers Ruffled At Bird’s Nest

Apr 19th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Walkers complain about ‘dangerously hard’ surface surrounding new stadium

Peter Simpson in Beijing and Agence France-Presse – Updated on Apr 19, 2008

China’s new “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium hobbled into the history books yesterday.

Concerns about the surface underfoot and eye-watering smog marred the long-awaited competition debut at the 3.5 billion yuan (HK$3.9 billion) centrepiece Olympic venue. “I think this course is very hard. I think for today’s 50km race it will be dangerous,” claimed Hatem Ghoula of Tunisia, one of 50 athletes who took part in the inaugural 20km IAAF men’s race walk test event.

Seven of the top finishers complained of unfinished and uneven surfaces, while others said pollution affected their performance.

Winner Australian Jared Tallent said the course was hard underfoot.

“It is quite hard on the legs being concrete. It does cause a lot more of an impact, especially for the 50km race,” said the 23-year-old Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, who clocked one hour and 20 minutes to become the first athlete to collect a gold medal in the iconic 91,000 seat stadium.

He added: “It is not what we are used to because 90 per cent of the time we race on asphalt.”

The walkers completed three laps of the stadium track before filing out to race nine times around a 2km looped circuit before returning to the Bird’s Nest for the finish.

Local hopes of a morale boost were dashed when Inner Mongolian teenager Wang Hao came in behind Tallent.

However, notching a personal best time of one hour, 20 minutes and 25 seconds, Wang gave a foretaste of the expected victories to come as China’s athletic stars prepare to get into their winning strides for the Games.

However, he also was unhappy with the course.

“We have never raced on such a hard surface. We train and race on roads, which is a bit different,” the 18-year-old said.

The poor air in the capital also affected some competitors and spectators eyes – a hanky-dabbing reminder that much needs to be done to ensure smog does not let down the dazzling facilities come August.

Third-placed Mexican Eder Sanchez, who recorded his best time of the season in 1:20.57, said the air quality was similar to that in his native Mexico and his eyes had been watering after 15km.

“It hurt my performance a little,” he said, adding that the hard ground also reduced speed and added wear on bones and joints.

“The hard ground has a bigger impact on the athletes’ heels and you can feel it in the knees,” he said.

Organisers said the IAAF race-walking challenge – which includes the 50km race which starts this morning – is part of dozens of test events designed to highlight problems with the venues before the August 8-24 Games.

“We will report all these questions to the competition manager who is in charge of this stadium. That is what a test event is for,” said stadium spokesman Chen Shuxu.

Tomorrow sees a marathon test event finish in the stadium and the next Olympic dress rehearsal is the China Open athletics competition from May 22 to 25.

Despite yesterday’s teething problems, 3000 cheering local fans caught a sense of the awe the impressive stadium inspires in athletes and spectators.

Pollution `Fight’ A Blue-Sky Joke

Apr 18th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Updated on Apr 18, 2008 – SCMP

Since Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen took office and made fighting pollution one of his main goals, nothing of substance has been done. His Action Blue Sky campaign is a joke. What else has been done, sir?

Now a government spokesman says that some of our power plants still have not been retrofitted with the newest technology to cut emissions (“Carbon caps for power plants mean high bills”, April, 11).

Can someone tell me why that is? How many years has this technology been available? When, if ever, do our power companies plan to retrofit the plants that are not up to standard?

It is amazing that so little has been done. We have been studying the feasibility of an idling engine ban and road pricing for more than 20 years.

I see why the government still uses 1987 air pollution standards. They are behind most “world cities” by 20 years.

Terry Scott, Sha Tin

Hybrid Cars

Apr 18th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Updated on Apr 18, 2008 – SCMP

Many people in Hong Kong do not think about the pollution they are causing when they turn on their car engines every day.

Surely drivers must realise that they have other options. Our city is serviced by various forms of public transport, such as buses, trams and the MTR.

Surely taking public transport is a better option, because it will lead to fewer cars being on our roads and reduced carbon emissions polluting the air.

If drivers have to keep using their cars, I would urge them to buy a hybrid model. These cars cause less pollution than other vehicles so motorists who drive them will be doing their bit for the environment.

Karen Hsu, The Peak

Forget The Smog, Heat’s The Worry

Apr 18th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Marathon champ Baldini echoes Radcliffe’s concern

Peter Simpson in Beijing – SCMP – Updated on Apr 18, 2008

Fearless Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini says he’s not afraid of Beijing’s notorious smog – and defiantly ruled out wearing a mask to defend his 2004 Athens title.

As pollution choked the mainland capital and host of the 2008 Games for the fourth day in a row yesterday, the Italian gave the beleaguered Beijing Olympic organisers another welcome confidence boost.

“I don’t think that running one race in these conditions would have any effect on your health,” said the European champion.

“It’s true that we have to worry about it because the situation is serious. But I’m not worried that August will be as bad as it is now.”

He acknowledged some runners who suffer from asthma – like serial marathon champion Haile Gebrselassie – faced health risks and then bluntly said “no mask” when asked if would consider wearing one.

He then fell into stride alongside British women’s marathon world record holder and asthma sufferer Paula Radcliffe, who last week insisted she believed that heat and humidity would be more of a threat at the Olympics and that Beijing’s air quality has been exaggerated.

“The pollution could affect the results, but I believe heat and humidity will have a bigger effect,” Baldini added at the end his three-day inspection visit.

But he’s ruled out running in Sunday’s test event marathon, which ends in the Bird’s Nest Stadium, because of injuries.

The centrepiece venue threw open its doors today for its first test event, the IAAF men’s race-walking competition.

Unlike many athletes who are delaying their arrival in Beijing until the last possible moment, Baldini will arrive about 10 days ahead of the early morning race to pound the roads in training.

“The biggest problem could be 10-12 days before, in the sense that the pollution might have a bigger effect than during the race itself,” said Baldini’s coach Luciano Gigliotti.

Yet no matter how hard he tried to convince reporters that he was not troubled by the threat of smog, Baldini admitted it was having a psychological affect on his high-altitude training in the mountains of Italy and Switzerland.

“I haven’t ever run in a similar polluted situation. I really haven’t seen such a polluted sky anywhere else. Other places where the sky is blue, may be there is pollution, but you can’t see it. Here you see it, you sense it,” he said.

He dismissed claims the marathon had been diminished by the high-profile pullout of Gebrselassie, who earlier this year lashed the Games organisers over air quality.

He said the race would have to be an intelligent one from the runners’ point of view as the conditions would force them to think carefully about their tactics. “The gap between the fastest and slowest will be narrowed,” he predicted.

He tipped London Marathon winner Martin Lel of Kenya to be his closest gold medal rival but said all African runners posed a serious threat.

“I do believe I have a good chance because of my experience,” Baldini said. “I already have several medals in important championships. That experience counts a lot for this event. The Olympic marathon is a totally different marathon from other marathons.”

No matter how hard the Olympian tried to run the positive line during his press call yesterday, however, politics, like the smog, hung heavy in the air.

“There is sadness for the situation in Tibet, because I don’t like what I see. But there are many other situations around the world that are similar. These are things that are not nice to see,” he said.

He said a boycott had never crossed his mind despite being under pressure in Italy to respond to the recent Tibetan unrest.

He admitted that he held “a personal opinion” over recent non-sport events, but added: “I am someone who likes to follow what the rules are [on speaking out on political issues] during the Olympics.”

Beijing Clearing Air Ahead of Olympics

Apr 18th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Posted on Apr. 18, 2008 – Energy Tribune – By Lee Geng

In an effort to improve Beijing’s dismal air quality before the Olympic Games, authorities are closing factories and implementing stricter sulfur standards for motor fuel.

To curb Beijing’s pollution, the closure of some factories – particularly cement, coke, and small steel producers in northern China – has been ordered. Polluting factories believed to be partially responsible for the capital’s poor air quality have already been closed in the provinces and municipalities of Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Shanxi, Tianjin, and Beijing. There are also plans to curb auto use and halt construction in Beijing before the Games begin.

As of March 1, Chinese refineries are required to produce gasoline and diesel that meet the Euro IV emission standards. The maximum sulfur content for both gasoline and diesel is capped at 50 parts per million, compared with the previous maximum for gasoline of 150 parts per million and diesel of 350 parts per million.

Sinopec’s and PetroChina’s refineries in the north have been upgraded to meet the new standard, with capacity to supply 505,000 tons per month, the bulk produced by Yanshan Petrochemical, one of Sinopec’s largest refineries. Beijing’s demand for oil products stands between 500,000 and 550,000 tons per month. The upgrades will be costly for the refiners, as the government is prohibiting them from raising prices to recover their investments.

However, that issue is taking a back seat to ongoing concerns about air pollution in Beijing. Last year, the smog there was so bad that Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee’s president, said some of the events might have to be rescheduled. And Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie, who holds the world record for the marathon, has already said he won’t compete in that event because he fears Beijing’s poor air quality will damage his health.

Find Balance

Apr 17th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Updated on Apr 17, 2008 – SCMP

Encouraged by the growth in population and economic development, our urban areas have continually expanded and encroached into rural areas like Lantau.

This development has resulted in environmental problems such as noise and air pollution. We must resolve the conflicts between environmental conservation and this urban development and strike a balance. I feel that improving the road system on Lantau will open the island up to private car users and it is not a good idea.

We need to ensure sustainable development in Hong Kong.

Iris Lau, Sha Tin

Smoke-Free Zones For Buses Aired

Apr 17th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Cheung Chi-fai – Updated on Apr 17, 2008 – SCMP

The government has pledged to study the feasibility of setting up low-emission zones from which heavily polluting buses would be banned.

The study will consider their pros and cons, including the extent to which they would improve roadside air quality and their impact on passengers and road traffic.

The pledges were made by Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah in the Legislative Council in a written response to a question from Hong Kong Island lawmaker Martin Lee Chu-ming.

Low emission zones (LEZ) are increasingly popular in Europe. Heavily polluting vehicles are banned from them or charged for entering them.

London has recently decreed an LEZ in the city centre and is progressively introducing daily charges of £100 (HK$1,540) to £200 for vehicles which flout its emission caps. The charge applies initially to heavy trucks; in July it will be extended to trucks over 3.5 tonnes and to buses and, in 2010, to vans and minibuses.

Mr Yau said a third of the vehicles run by Hong Kong’s three big bus franchises were pre-Euro or Euro I. The total of 1,960 had dropped by only 80 since September 2006.

Pre-Euro vehicles were built before 1992, when the European Union introduced its first emission standards for heavy vehicles, known as Euro I.

The tougher Euro II standard was introduced in 1996.

At the end of last year, Kowloon Motor Bus, CityBus and sister company New World First Bus were operating 609 pre-Euro buses and 1,351 Euro I buses.

Of these, 311 were plying some of city’s busiest roads, including Hennessy Road, Queensway – the worst affected – and Des Voeux Road Central on the island and Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Most of them were in the CityBus fleet.

But Mr Yau told lawmakers that forcing them off these roads would shift the air pollution problem elsewhere.

“The government needs to study carefully whether deploying all pre-Euro or Euro I buses outside low emission zones will shift the roadside air pollution problem to areas which are currently unaffected, or worsen their current situation,” he said.

Pre-Euro and Euro I buses accounted for about half the 100 tonnes of respirable suspended particles and nitrogen oxides emitted by franchised buses in 2006.

A Euro IV diesel vehicle emits 95 per cent less particulates and 60 per cent less nitrogen oxides than a pre-Euro vehicle, the Environmental Protection Department says.

Australian Walker Tallent Scoops First Bird’s Nest Win

Apr 17th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
No comments yet

Reuters in Beijing

Australian Jared Tallent won the first athletics event at China’s new “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium on Friday when he claimed victory in the IAAF 20km race walk.

The 23-year-old Commonwealth bronze medallist received a huge roar from the 3,000 spectators rattling around in the 91,000-seater showpiece venue for this year’s Beijing Olympics when he crossed the line after one hour, 20 minutes and 11 seconds.

“Fantastic,” Tallent said. “It’s very special to be the first winner in the Bird’s Nest, I couldn’t be happier. This is my first big international win and I’m hoping to do it again in August.”

Local hopes had rested on Wang Hao finding something extra over the last few kilometres but the Inner Mongolian teenager had to settle for second place despite a personal best time of 1:20.25.

“Everybody was thinking about winning the first gold medal for China at the Bird’s Nest but I’m happy with my performance,” said the 18-year-old. “I’ll go away and work hard and come back and win a medal, maybe even a gold, in August.”

Mexican Eder Sanchez, who finished fourth in the 20km at last year’s world championships, was third in 1:20.57, his best time of the season.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has admitted that there is a slight health risk for athletes competing for more than an hour on the most polluted days in the Chinese capital.

On Friday, the smog was not as bad as it had been earlier in the week and Tallent said it had not had any impact on his race.

“The pollution didn’t affect me at all, it looks pretty hazy, but it was not problem at all, I felt great,” he told reporters.

Sanchez said the air quality was similar to that in his native Mexico and his eyes had been watering after 15km.

“It hurt my performance a little,” he said.

This was the first opportunity for the Chinese public to get inside the $500-million stadium and locals began arriving hours before the 9am race start.

A great deal of Chinese prestige rests on the Aug. 8-24 Games being a success and this has not been lost on the people of Beijing.

“I’m so anxious that there are still some things to be finished, it’s a little bit messy inside and outside,” said Han Huiying, a local community worker who arrived at 7am.

“There’s only about a hundred days to go and I want them to fix this because I think the Olympics has to be perfect.”

← Earlier Posts Newer Posts →