Air pollution violations from Chinese factories made public in new app

Saturday, July 05, 2014 by: PF Louis

Tags: air pollution, China, smart phone app
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(NaturalNews) A new smart phone app was recently developed to enable anyone to not only view
complete air quality readings but directly determine air pollution culprits. Surprisingly, it was
developed in China for Chinese citizens. And it doesn't target cars and wood- or coal-burning
chimneys; it targets industrial sources.
There are 15,000 factories sprawled across vast mainland China that are now required by the
Environmental Ministry to submit real-time air emission reports to provincial environmental officials.
Although required to make the data public, not all provinces feature the information on their
websites.
This new app, launched June 9, 2014, enables anyone to see what's going on with air quality
anywhere in China on an hourly reporting basis. The network, created by the Beijing-based Institute
of Public and Environmental Affairs, permits one to use his or her own smart phone to not only get
air quality reports in 190 different cities, but see which factories are violating pollution restrictions.
By connecting to the GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite system, which many use for
directions in vehicles or on smart phones, each city can be viewed with the positions of all the
factories or industries in that area.
The factories or industries are color-coded, with red indicating a transgression of the national air
quality pollution limits. This system also provides a centralized data base for the Environmental
Ministry.
Curbing the pollution from industrial catch-up
This development indicates more willingness to increase pressure on Chinese industries to curb
their polluting ways. As recently as three years ago, there was no effort made to minimize
industrial pollution. The Chinese government was more concerned about catching up to other
industrialized nations commercially.
Producing energy for electricity was permitted with outdated, poorly designed coal-powered
stations. Coal exhaust that is not properly "scrubbed" as it goes through stacks pollutes the air with
mercury.
It got so bad that Japan formally complained to China about the higher-than-normal amounts of
mercury deposited on Mt. Fuji when air currents emanated from China's mainland
(http://www.naturalnews.com).
And it got so bad that Chinese entrepreneurs were recently offering bags of mountain air to promote
mountain resorts and selling cans of mountain air to citizens trapped in smog ridden communities at
sea level (http://www.naturalnews.com).
Of the WHO's (World Health Organization) estimated 7 million deaths attributed to outdoor and
indoor air pollution, around 40 percent were in China. So, from the turning point three years ago
of Chinese industries catching up to the world, there has been more attention on environmental air
issues.
Smog was getting so thick that a large percentage of Chinese residents owned and used masks
with high filtration ratings whenever pollution alerts were broadcast, which has been often. You've
probably seen many of those photos with people wearing masks while strolling about in Chinese
cities.
They were often publicized as folks trying to avoid getting the latest influenza epidemics, but they
are simply as common as gloves in cold weather to minimize breathing in air pollutants.
Another example of how much the Chinese government has adapted to pressure from citizens and
environmental activist groups is the fact that the level of particulate matter, PM2.5, which is an
indicator of toxicity in the air, is now readily available to the public. Until recently, public access was
denied to that data as part of the government's denial of smog dangers.
Of course, smog is obvious to everyone. Not as obvious are China's inland waterway pollution and
soil contamination. Those seem more obvious to a few discriminating, wary Western food and
supplement consumers than they are to perhaps many Chinese citizens for now.
But it appears that China is currently beginning an environmental phase that America and other

Western industrial nations went through during the 1960s and '70s. Perhaps, since communism can
control industry -- but under fascism, industry rules government -- any environmental progress won't
be eroded there as quickly as it has been here.

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more:http://www.naturalnews.com/045860_air_pollution_China_smart_phone_app.html#ixzz3PUOY
214U

Beijing air pollution now 800% higher than WHO limits

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: air pollution, Beijing, pollution limits
(NaturalNews) China continues to sing the environmental blues, with air pollution levels in the
capital city of Beijing now so high that they exceed the World Health Organization's (WHO)
recommended safety level by nearly eight-fold. Bloomberg reports that recent air samples taken by
Beijing's Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center reveal levels of fine particulate matter, PM2.5,
hovering just under 200 micrograms per cubic meter (mcg/m 3), or about 800 percent higher than the
WHO limit of 25 mcg/m3.
The most threatening form of particulate matter, PM2.5, is the designation given to very fine
particles that measure smaller than 2.5 mcg in diameter. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) lists PM2.5 as the most harmful type of particulate pollution for humans, because it is easily
inhaled and, due to its small size, capable of lodging and accumulating deep within the lungs and
respiratory system.
According to reports, levels of PM2.5 measuring 198 mcg/m 3 were detected in China's Tiananmen
Square around 11 a.m. on February 22, prompting China's Ministry of Environmental Protection to
dispatch 12 groups of investigators to three different Chinese provinces to see if local authorities
there are following proper environmental guidelines. This includes enforcing appropriate regulations
on highly polluting industries like steel and coal production.
"Beijing maintained its air pollution alert at orange, triggering orders for some enterprises to limit
production and a ban on outdoor barbecues and fireworks, as smog levels were projected to stay
hazardous until at least Monday morning," explains Bloomberg, noting that extreme levels of air
pollution are being detected all across China. "Smog will persist until Monday morning in Beijing,
Tianjin, and parts of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces," adds the report.
Many years of heavy pollution has destroyed 8 million acres of Chinese farmland
Unfortunately for the Chinese people, the human health consequences of all this air pollution extend
far beyond simply inhaling particulate matter when out in public. Back in December, Chinese
officials announced that more than 8 million acres, or about 3.33 million hectares, of fertile farmland
is now too polluted for growing crops.
China's Vice Minister of Land and Resources Wang Shiyuan told reporters at a news conference
right after Christmas that all farming operations on this polluted land would have to cease
immediately to make way for remediation and cleanup efforts. He did not, however, comment on
whether food already grown and harvested from this polluted land would still be permitted for retail
sale.
"These areas cannot continue farming," he stated, noting that all 8 million acres are moderately to
severely polluted with toxic chemicals.
With arable land area the size of Belgium now lost, not to mention Beijing having experienced its
worst air pollution "storm" on record back in January, it is no wonder that China is constantly in the
news for selling and exporting polluted food. According to the Chinese government, the country
needs at least 120 million hectares of arable land to meet its food needs, an amount that it is now
barely achieving.
"There is a price to pay for becoming the world's factory country, and now it's beginning to show
up," adds one CBC.ca commenter to the conversation. "There is also a price to pay for doing things
in a way that businesses favors.... It's just a matter of time before people have to clamor for change
in order to keep from starving."

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/044068_air_pollution_Beijing_limits.html#ixzz3PUOpV14n

Air pollution causes developmental problems in infants, kills 7 million annually

Friday, April 04, 2014 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: air pollution, developmental problems, death toll
(NaturalNews) In the quest for energy and increased production, mankind has sabotaged himself,
destroying the very air he breathes. Nature's clean, sustainable, free energy sources have been
bypassed, as industry empires rise up, shooting pollution from their stacks and skyscraper pipes.
Air quality is often taken for granted. Since people generally breathe involuntarily, they rarely realize
what's going into the body, as the lungs shuffle to take in oxygen.
New WHO report finds that 7 million people now die annually due to air pollution
According to a new report from the World Health Organization, air pollution is now causing the
deaths of an entire 7 million people annually. The agency pointed out that one in eight deaths
worldwide are caused by poor air quality; they believe that pollution is now the greatest
environmental risk factor for disease and death. WHO reports that deaths due to poor air quality
trumps deaths from AIDS, diabetes and road accidents combined. The agency estimated that nearly
4.3 million deaths in 2012 were actually caused by indoor air pollution, with indoor coal stoves being
the greatest danger. The WHO report stated that 40 percent of those deaths come from China
alone.
When one breathes polluted air, tiny particles make their way into the lungs and embed deep into
the organ, causing irritation and, ultimately, inflammation in the heart.
"Poor women and children pay a heavy price from indoor air pollution since they spend more time at
home breathing in smoke and soot from leaky coal and wood cook stoves," said Flavia Bustreo,
WHO Assistant Director-General for Family, Women and Children's Health.
Each individual is responsible
Frank Kelly, director of the environmental research group at King's College London, believes that it's
government's responsibility to curb pollution levels, by relocating power stations away from big
cities and by implementing new legislation that encourages cheaper, cleaner alternatives to indoor
coal stoves. But can regulations really solve the worldwide air pollution crisis, or have they been
part of the problem all along?
How can people around the world reclaim clean, naturally pure air that promotes quality of life?
First, an awakening must occur; an appreciation for life must evolve. The problem must be
recognized. An understanding must arise, of the natural harmony and connectedness that air brings
as a bond between all forms of life. People must understand that polluted air can be channeled into
the womb, affecting precious, developing life.
Transformation to a more pure world starts by treating others with respect, by doing no harm to
one's fellow man -- which is the way everyone wants to be treated. This starts with adjusting
personal habits -- putting down the carcinogen stick that blows toxic smoke into the room of a
pregnant woman. It starts with people who are willing to put down the chemical fragrance perfumes
and toxic air disinfectants that are splashed on and sprayed about erroneously and flagrantly.
On a bigger scale, change begins by learning how to obtain free energy from the sun and wind. It
means reducing excess, wasteful energy consumption.
New habits include finding ways to reduce one's own exposure to choking fumes by avoiding rushhour traffic or by reducing work-travel distance. Growing, trading and buying local foods will reduce
dependence on long-distance, energy-wasting food travel.
When will the world open up its eyes collectively to the harm it inflicts on itself? How happy and how
pure of lives can we really live? Why don't we strive to be all that we can be?
Study shows how air pollution creates developmental problems in infants
A Columbia University study that partnered with Chongqing Medical University linked toxic air
pollution to developmental problems in infants beginning in the womb.
The universities studied the health effects that air pollution cast onto mothers and children living
near an inefficient coal-fired power plant in China in 2002. The women were all nonsmokers, but
they lived near a defunct plant that blasted out air pollution levels eight times greater than the US
legal limit. The results were compared with another group of nonsmoking women who gave birth in
2005, after the same power plant had been shut down. These women gave birth in air that was over
eight times cleaner.

The researchers found that every single child born in 2002 living near the defunct plant lacked a
vital protein needed for proper neurological development. Consequently, these children, exposed to
bouts of unclean air, showed diminished learning and memory retention abilities.
Columbia's Deliang Tang, who led the report, concluded, "I wasn't anticipating such a clear
difference when we compared the first and second cohorts, and this shows how much of an impact
effective policies can have on local populations."

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more: http://www.naturalnews.com/044582_air_pollution_developmental_problems_death_toll.html#
ixzz3PUP21mzr

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Atmospheric CO2 Levels Over Arctic Have Reached 400

Parts Per Million
Written by Megan Treacy on May 31, 2012

The atmosphere over the Arctic has hit a troublesome milestone: the concentration
of CO2 has surpassed 400 parts per million. Stations across the region in Alaska,
Greenland, Norway and Iceland have recorded the measurements that have surged
since the winter and spring have brought a decline in CO2-absorbing vegetation.
While the downswing in carbon absorption happens every year, this is the first time
in 800,000 years that the CO2 concentration anywhere in the world has been 400
ppm or above.
Before industrialization, global CO2 levels were about 280 ppm but in recent years
global levels have reached as high as 395 ppm. The fact that any area of the globe
has climbed above the 400 ppm mark concerns climate scientists that even with
many countries rolling out carbon reduction measures, its not making a difference
fast enough.
Carnegie Institution ecologist Chris Field, a leader of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, said, It is an indication that were in a different world.
To that end, scientists have recently discovered that the loss of Arctic summer ice
and accelerated warming of that region are altering the jet stream, which is likely
to increase extreme weather events around the world.
via Yale e360
Image via flickr user Polar Cruises