Bad Air Day for Beijing

CHAN:
With just one day to go before the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games, it seems Beijing is struggling with another "bad air day." Chinese authorities are trying save face by fighting the smog.


STORY:
Athletes from around the world continued to arrive at Beijing's international airport on Wednesday for the Olympic games, which begin Friday.

For those already in the city, Beijing's pollution has been a major cause for concern.

With the growth of coal-fueled factories and lax enforcement of environmental standards, pollution in China has been getting worse and worse over the past decade. As a result, Beijing has felt the need to take radical measures to improve air quality for the Games, including restricting car use and temporarily closing some factories.

The International Olympic Committee has said it will reschedule events that last more than an hour if air quality is bad on the day of an event. Intermittently smoggy skies this week have not boded well for the Games.

And in a move that upset Chinese authorities, four American cyclists arrived at the airport this week wearing black breathing masks to combat the smog. They later apologized, possibly under pressure from the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Category:

News & Politics

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• beijing
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• air
• olympic
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• chinese
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• pollution
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• smog
• week
• china

[medusa569]

Why the hell was the Olympics committee allowed to consider Beijing for hosting with this as a major health consideration? The Chinese were insulted...too bad ...take a look at that pea soup out your window comrades!

[ChrisVaughn85]

ahhhhhhh.....the smell of progress!

[Dayversion]

China's 'green economy' will have to wait

China is neither green nor clean. It's a major polluter that promises to clean up its act — someday.

Doyle McManus

China burns more coal (by far) and emits more greenhouse gases than any other country. It sells more automobiles than any other country too (it passed the United States last year). And all those bad numbers are still going up, because China's No. 1 goal is increasing industrial production, not protecting the environment.

[1982FMJ]

its scary man. every airport i go to is getting more polluted. the terminals are smelling of jet exhaust fumes more and more worse each year. Its going to get sickening if we don't do something within the next hundred years.

[pilgrym8]

Why should they apologize?? They have every right to protect their lungs from China's polluted air. China should apologize for expecting these athletes to compete in such poor conditions putting their health at risk! China should make it a priority to clean up their environment and stop polluting the earth. The games should have never been held in such a polluted place!!!

[matKilla9801]

lol i used this video to win an argument with one of my chinese friends

[covmatak]

Those americans had every right to wear the masks to protect their health from china's polluted air... so why should the immature chinese authorities be upset over it?

[livvy1990]

wow