Beijing Tells the World

SIR #2
WW
Tom Leverett

In this article,“Asia losing in battle against air pollution; large cities faring far worse than those in Europe and U.S.”, the author talks about the serious problems of air pollution in Asian areas, especially in many large cities, such as Beijing and New Delhi. Even though air pollution is a big problem in main cities in the world, the situation in urban areas gets more aggregated in Asia. And, the most harmful component in air pollution is microscopic dust which may be the important reason to cause respiratory disease, cancer and other potentially deadly illnesses. The author also mentions that “the dirtiest of the major cities, ranked by micrograms of particles of pollution dust per cubic meter, was Beijing, at 142. By comparison, Paris averages around 22 micrograms, London 24 and New York 27. The WHO guideline is 20.” Moreover, Dr. Michal Krzyzanowski, who is a regional Adviser and works in air quality and health field pointed that outdoor air pollution in Asia causes 530,000 premature deaths every year. Obviously, motor vehicles play the most important role in air pollution. They bring the high density of the pollution dust and affect people’s daily lives. However, some Asian cities have paid attention to this problem in recent decades. Tokyo city shows its success. “The Tokyo metropolitan area, with a population of 35 million, has pollution levels well below both the U.S and European standards” (Fuller, 2006). Indeed, the people in Asia are well aware that air pollution is a quite serious problem that needs to be solved. More and more cities in Asia, such as Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong, have tried to make a lot of effort to solve the situation of air pollution and to improve the quality of air today.

From this article, it seems that Beijing is the most serious city that produces and suffers from air pollution, but make it sound as if Beijing has no way to solve its problem. This is not true; we can improve air quality in Beijing through the government, some particular purposes and individuals.

To begin with, as the saying goes, “Let him who tied the bell on the tiger take it off.” The main point for solving the problem of air pollution in Beijing is depending on the government. If we want to win the battle against air pollution, effective steps have to be taken by the government; because despite the negative influence on the environment, the government developed industry in order to improve the economy in the past years. First, the government should concentrate on working out a program for both cleaning up and prevention. When there’s a comprehensive plan, it is necessary to lay down the rules. On the other hand, sometimes management by driving is not the best way to control the situation; the government should establish an excitation mechanism, and citizens’ classical attitudes about use and pollution should be dramatically changed by education. The “Day of car unused” is a good example in this form. National wealth depends to a high degree on a country’s productive potential, and productive potential cannot exist without sustainable environment; a sustainable environment relies on the government’s action.

Next, because of the special geographic entity and culture in Beijing, it will be more effective if we focus on some particular purposes. Beijing is located in North China; there are three huge deserts to the north of Beijing, with other elements such as wind direction, vegetation, temperature, and topography; each spring there is a lot of dust. Air pollution is worst over that period. If we can reduce the amount, degree and intensity of dust storms, the condition of air pollution can be improved markedly. Evidently, planting more trees is the easiest and cheapest way to decrease the influence of dust storms. Also, because of traditional customs, people in China burn a kind of special paper to dead relatives when we have important holidays. Air pollution dramatically increases because of flour dust that is caused by burning paper. Hence, if we can burn paper in machines or a place that is prescribed, we can not only keep the traditional customs, but also protect the air. To pay more attention to geographic entity and culture is the requirement to improve the current condition of the sky above Beijing.

Finally, population in Beijing is over 15 million; this horrific number means individual behavior is closely linked with air pollution. If the majority of Beijing citizens can correct their mistakes that damage air, and keep positive behaviors, we can see stellar results in a short time. For instance, new couples and people who buy new houses are interested in architectural decoration and finishing; during the entire process, they use many chemical products, some of which are toxic chemicals. The direct result is indoor air pollution. As air exchanges, chemical gas diffuses into the open air; this problem is more serious than the problem caused by dust or flour dust. But if we avoid using harmful chemical material or choose a simple architectural decoration, the situation will be better soon. There are many phenomena of individual behavior architectural decoration, and finishing such as private cars, and the consumption of energy in daily life; therefore, it won’t be a big deal if we begin with our neighbor.

In conclusion, the situation can be improved soon if the government can take some effective steps, people can focus on geographic entity and culture reasons in order to reduce air pollution, and individual behaviors can be corrected. Beijing is also struggling. Even though problems of air pollution that Beijing must face is still serious, we still can see some positive aspect in this “battle”. First, some principles for environmental control have been taken. Second, the daily report and forecast of the air quality is relased in the media such as CCTV. Moreover, government requires that there be no smoking in famous tourist resorts and hotels interrelated with the Olympic Games from next year. From this, we can believe we are going to do better.


Reference:
Fuller, T. (2006, December 16). Asia losing in battle against air pollution; large cities faring far worse than those in Europe and U.S. The International Herald Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2007, from Lexis Nexis.