Posted on 08/20/2007 7:19:21 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
Prayers for strong winds look set to become a major component of Beijing's Olympic preparations after a traffic-reduction trial failed to shift the smog that hangs over the city.
More than a million cars were taken off the roads for the four-day test period, but there was no improvement in the air quality, according to city officials.
Yesterday the skies above Beijing were the same dirty grey shade as when the test started on Friday.
As of Sunday the air quality ranking had not budged from level two on China's five-tier scale, in which level one represents clear unpolluted skies.
Nonetheless, the city's Olympic organisers declared the test, which ends today, a success.
Because there was no wind, they argued, pollution would have grown thicker without the special restrictions.
"Level two is a good enough standard for athletic competition," said Yu Xianoxuan, environmental director of the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee. "If we had not had the traffic controls we could not have maintained this level because the temperature and humidity were very high. So we can see the restrictions worked."......
......Although the measures did not make much of an impact on the environment, the traffic that usually jams the city was noticeably better in many areas.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Which level do they use for food exports?
Sorry, wrong link. For China’s take on the car ban:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884118/posts
Is it “The Year of Hot Air” already?
China’s a populous country - why can’t they all just take a deep breath and blow in the desired direction?
The last thing I would look at are cars, because only about 4% of the population of Beijing owns one, most are modern enough that they should not be contributing too much pollution, and the road capacity won't allow much more on the roads anyway.
Someone please remind me how China won the bid to host the Olympics. What did they have to offer?
Nothing, but that doesn't stop the fools from going there. Here's one that will pass on watching them. I hope the network that sponsors it losses their a$$.
Baksheesh.
What’s Mandarin for “Divine Wind?”
Great place to hold an Olympics, don’t you think?
But I thought only the evil United States polluted mother earth. Zoinks! Too bad China didn’t do the Kyoto Protocal like Al Gore wants us to. Now the world can see what a smoggy turd-world air-quality China contributes to global pollution.
Future News Flash from Beijing....Olympic times cut in half due to gagging athletes....
“China prays”?...
Any journalist who would print such a blatant impossibility, really has nothing to say.
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