Beijing's pollution turns office buildings into lighthouses :

Carbon monoxides, ground-level ozone, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and alike substances - to put it short: pollution – are in rich supply here in Beijing and a big, burning topic.

Yesterday this was not only obvious to my lungs but also to my eyes. I was standing at the bus station, waiting, when I saw this:

Probably the one and only nice thing there is about pollution..! Hence, at days when the above mentioned factors are abundant and fellow sun strong enough to be visible, I recommend you going for a walk (It’s totally worth the health risk.. ;) ) in Jianguomen wai or anywhere else where there is facades that are round in shape. Great!

Well, this scene also made me feel like brainstorming about Beijing’s big, massive problem with pollution. So here we go: please feel inspired and free to contribute your thoughts, comments and don't hesitate to counter argue some of the below:

Within China, which has a problem with pollution in general (the WHO reported that 7 out of the 10 most polluted cities in the world can be found in China) – interesting to see how the presence of heavy pollution illustrated on the NCAR MOPITT satellite pollution chart follows roughly China’s national boundaries),
Beijing sticks out as one of the worst among all cities (comparison). From above smog looks a bit like a fluffy cushion and gives a good impression of how "clear" Beijing sky can get:

A random number (still very unscientific this post..) to put this roughly into relation, internationally: According to a Chart in the Economist the annual fine particle pollution (PM10) in Beijing still averages above 150 µg/m3. This is rather skyrocketing compared to cities such as Madrid (37 µg/m3), Paris (22 µg/m3) or London (22 µg/m3). China itself tracks pollution at the help of the API (Air Pollution index). Only in November Beijing hit zone 5 (out of 5) several times, where, according to official recommendation, “The aged and patients should stay indoors and avoid strength draining; the ordinary should avoid outdoor activities” (basically: stay indoors..!). Check out my colleague’s, the madphilosopher’s, site who tracks also the daily API.

So what are some of the reasons why Beijing’s sky is hardly ever clear and romantic evenings marvelling at the stars fairly rare?

• CONSTRUCTION – Beijing is currently one of the biggest construction sites in the world. Since the city wants to be ready to host the world in August 2008, every construction site needs to be finished by early 2008 so that the huge amount of particulate matter and other substances has time enough to settle a bit..
• TRAFFIC - This is a big topic providing enough info and anecdotes for a post of it's own. For the moment as much: have you spent a day without being stuck in a traffic jam? Yes?! You're definitely not one of our fellow Beijing citizens.. Bicycles are being exchanged for cars at a speed that the infrastructure (sometimes flawed in very interesting ways) can not catch up with.
• INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION – Due to the rapid growth of the city factories that were originally built in the "industrial zones" on the edge of the city have all of a sudden found themselves in the middle of urban development. In addition to this the pollution generated by the factories located outside the current city boundaries is carried in by the wind.
• DESERTIFICATION OF BEIJING - The desertification of Beijing and the corresponding sandstorms that sweep over the city more and more frequently cary considerable amounts of dust into the city.
• HEATING – Once the heating is turned on (November 15th for area’s north of the heating belt (topic full of anecdotes to be written about in one of the next posts)), it produces heat mainly at the help of charcoal, a big contributor to overall pollution in Beijing.
• JIANG ROU CHUAN - This mutton shish kebab is about as popular in Beijing as in Xinjiang - Mainland China’s western most, breathtakingly beautiful and diverse region - where they originate from. They are BBQ-ed, hence consitute another (yummie..) source of pollution using coal and covering whole hutongs in smoke (I actually kind of like (aesthetically) this athmosphere)…
• TOBACCO CONSUMPTION - ask Exoweb’s candidate’s to find out more about this.. ;)
• FARTS - nice, since there is this natural touch to them.. ;)

What to do (..take it with a grain of salt..;))?

• RAIN – Since it washes pollution (very temporarily) out of the air. July and August are in that sense the "cleanest" months of the year. However, they are also the nastiest ones, since who likes to like in a steam bath, even though it’s relatively clean..? ;)
• SNOW – Another temporary remedy.. Have you ever seen snow that is brownish to blackish in colour? Welcome to join in a nasty snow ball fight here in Beijing! ;)
• CURB PRIVATE - BOOST PUBLIC TRANSPORT - big issue, interesting enough for another posting. So far no “Transmillenio system” here in Beijing.
• AWARENESS RAISING – The officials seem to be aware of the problem. Next steps seem to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth and raise awareness among citizens. I would like to see a better implementation of the “polluter pays” principle.
• USE EVALUATION SYSTEM OF PART Y OFFICIALS - The evaluation system for assessing the performance of part y officials and civil servants should be adapted so as to boost “green GDP” – here.
• ANTI-POLLUTION CREAM – Invest 80USD in 30ml of hope and radiant appareance even at times of heavy pollution..
  
• PAINT - If you your house looks grey instead of white or is dirty, simply paint it over or clean it.. I still wonder how much money Jianwai Soho – an office and residential building complex next to Guo Mao sometimes referred to as “the mental clinic” for the fact that it’s kept in white, totally, radically.. – spends on keeping itself white.. Great encounter in this respect: when I opened my window (on 11th floor) yesterday morning I saw this:
  The new apartment building I’m currently living in is white again…
• SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCES – Economic development, (still) population growth and higher living standards will, without any doubt, further raise China’s need for energy. Therefore it’s essential to switch to energy sources that are technically more advanced and less energy intensive than the still overly prominent charcoal
• GREENEN LIQUID – If gras looks a bit brownish and withers: why not paint it green? Last used when the Olympic Committee came to town. Article here.

Well, a bit too long this brainstorming. Wonder what you think about this topic!

Caugh, caugh.. Dom J