Chinese residents line up for bags of fresh mountain air

[Levina]

Chinese residents line up for bags of fresh mountain air

By Frances Cha and Hiufu Wong, CNN
April 3, 2014 -- Updated 0700 GMT (1500 HKT)

most polluted cities in 2013, which used official data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

At the time of writing, Zhengzhou's AQI (Air Quality Index) recorded an "unhealthy" 157.

Zhengzhou is one of the worst cities in China for air pollution.
New York recorded an AQI of 62.


The late-March series of events were part clever travel marking gimmick, part public awareness campaign for China's air pollution crisis, put on by Laojun Mountain Natural Reserve Development Co.

The company brought in 2,000 cans and 40 bags of air that had been vacuum packed in Laojun Mountain, also located in Henan Province.

"A TV crew came to Laojun Mountain to test the air and found it unbelievably good and we had the idea of doing this to promote tourism to the area," sales and marketing officer for the park Khurram Zhang told CNN.

Known for its fresh air, the mountain was designated a national nature reserve in 1997, and sits 120 kilometers away from the nearest city of Luoyang.

"We collected 2,000 cans of air from She Shen Ya (a cliff on Laojun Mountain) early last month and we gave them out in multiple locations as a marketing campaign. It was gone in 20 minutes," said Zhang.

"We've launched two more events giving away air from the mountain. There will be more free fresh air coming in the future."

.....................................

Sad but true.....Even as the global powers play the blame game and snub the climate talks, pollution is a reality everywhere in the world
While Beijing rolled out a series of emergency response measure, including banning children from outdoor activities and publishing editorials about the pollution, the city has rated a staggering 755 on the World Health Organization's hazardous particulates scale of 0 to 500,thats well below the limits.
Statuses of metropolitan cities in other countries are no better,but China is facing the problem more so because of rapid industrialization.

 

[Srinivas]

It is estimated that pollution in China costs of 300 Billion dollars a year because of health related issues.

Health costs of China's polluted air "up to US$300b a year"

Premature deaths and health problems from air pollution cost China as much as US$300 billion a year, an official report said on Tuesday, calling for a new urbanisation model for the world's second-largest economy.

BEIJING: Premature deaths and health problems from air pollution cost China as much as US$300 billion a year, an official report said on Tuesday, calling for a new urbanisation model for the world's second-largest economy.

"As China prepares for the next wave of urbanisation, addressing environmental and resource constraints will become increasingly more urgent because much of China's pollution is concentrated in its cities," said the joint report by the World Bank and the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's cabinet.

High mortality levels and other health problems from China's notorious air pollution are estimated to cost the country from US$100 billion to more than US$300 billion a year, said the report, which was 14 months in the making.

Writing in the Lancet in December, former Chinese health minister Chen Zhu cited studies showing air pollution caused up to 500,000 premature deaths a year in China.

Tuesday's report said the long-term consequences could include birth defects and impaired cognitive functions because young children and infants are severely affected by poor air quality.

China's rapid urbanisation over the last three decades -- a key part of its economic boom -- has avoided some common ills such as large-scale slums and unemployment, the report said.

"But strains have begun to emerge in the form of rising inequality, environmental degradation, and the quickening depletion of natural resources," it said.

Much of the new urban land was taken from farmers at prices often no more than 20 per cent of market values, and the amount of available farmland is now close to the minimum level necessary to ensure food security, said the report.

If current trends continue, an additional 34,000 square kilometres (13,100 square miles) -- an area about the size of the Netherlands -- will be needed to accommodate the growth of cities in the next decade, it added.

China needs to reform the way it expands its cities and curb inefficient urban sprawl, which has sometimes produced ghost towns and wasteful property development, the report said.

On current trends, China will spend US$5.3 trillion on urbanisation over the next 15 years -- but with more efficient, denser cities the country could save about US$1.4 trillion, or 15 per cent of its gross domestic product last year, World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

The report proposed six areas for reform including more efficient land management that better benefits farmers, and adjustments to the "hukou" residence registration system to give migrant workers equal access to basic public services.

It also called on Beijing to step up its law enforcement on pollution.

China's Premier Li Keqiang vowed to "declare war" on pollution at the country's annual legislative gathering this month, and announced new measures to add to a raft of others issued over the past year.

Health costs of China's polluted air "up to US$300b a year" - Channel NewsAsia

 

[TheTruth]

Good thing China is a country that can afford $300 billion a year.

CDC - DHDSP - Heart Disease Facts

• Coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year.3 This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.

 

[Skull and Bones]

China should take massive afforestation effort to put a check on air pollution

 

[BoQ77]

We wish China still keep their title - the world workshop - forever !!!

Wonder why they don't press into liquid oxygen for more compact

 

[Fattyacids]

@levina @Srinivas

“In China, people are extremely concerned about the air, especially around small children,” Mr. Hammes said. “Why there’s not the same concern in India is puzzling.”

"India has the world’s highest death rate because of chronic respiratory diseases, and it has more deaths from asthmathan any other nation, according to the World Health Organization. A recent study found that half of all visits to doctors in India are for respiratory problems, according to Sundeep Salvi, director of the Chest Research Foundation in Pune."

Beijing’s Bad Air Would Be Step Up for Smoggy Delhi
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/w...r-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?_r=0


Delhi world’s most polluted city: Study - Hindustan Times

 

[Srinivas]

In India there are cities which are polluted , I have doubts over the stats from western agencies who always try to scare people of the east.

But the number of cities in China that are affected by smog and pollution are more and are becoming dangerous as time passes.

"In Beijing Govt. has issued an order for children not to play in the open". Similarly there are cities in China where a pollution mask is recommended.

@levina @Srinivas

“In China, people are extremely concerned about the air, especially around small children,” Mr. Hammes said. “Why there’s not the same concern in India is puzzling.”

"India has the world’s highest death rate because of chronic respiratory diseases, and it has more deaths from asthmathan any other nation, according to the World Health Organization. A recent study found that half of all visits to doctors in India are for respiratory problems, according to Sundeep Salvi, director of the Chest Research Foundation in Pune."

Beijing’s Bad Air Would Be Step Up for Smoggy Delhi
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/w...r-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?_r=0


Delhi world’s most polluted city: Study - Hindustan Times

 

[Fdsa]

CHINA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GLOBAL WARMING

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

One bag please.

 

[T-123456]

Doesnt it have to do with the wind,or the lack of it?

 

[OrionHunter]

My Chinese friends are most welcome to holiday at my place as I live in the unpolluted hills of the South, with fresh natural mountain air that one can take lung-fulls of! It's a health resort of immense beauty, a UNESCO World Heritage site having one of the best climates in the world as per National Geographic.

Ain't I lucky to be living here!!

Cheers!

 

[SpArK]

Fresh mountain air.

I wish i get that every now and then.

 

[OrionHunter]

Fresh mountain air.

I wish i get that every now and then.

Now and then? I get it 24x7!!

 

[SpArK]

Now and then? I get it 24x7!!

So does a deer,rhino,orangutan in a forest.

So what?

 

[Fattyacids]

In India there are cities which are polluted , I have doubts over the stats from western agencies who always try to scare people of the east.

But the number of cities in China that are affected by smog and pollution are more and are becoming dangerous as time passes.

"In Beijing Govt. has issued an order for children not to play in the open". Similarly there are cities in China where a pollution mask is recommended.

Improve your reading and comprehension! No wonder you ranked last in PISA test.

“In China, people are extremely concerned about the air, especially around small children,” Mr. Hammes said. “Why there’s not the same concern in India is puzzling.”
"India has the world’s highest death rate because of chronic respiratory diseases, and it has more deaths from asthmathan any other nation, according to the World Health Organization. A recent study found that half of all visits to doctors in India are for respiratory problems, according to Sundeep Salvi, director of the Chest Research Foundation in Pune.

Beijing’s Bad Air Would Be Step Up for Smoggy Delhi
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/w...r-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?_r=0