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Fewer 'good air' days in China despite official efforts
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) July 20, 2017


Chinese cities had fewer "good air" days in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year despite government efforts to curb incessant smog, according to official data.

China has vowed to target coal-burning and vehicle emissions, increase investment in clean energy and punish polluters in a bid to improve the air quality of the world's second largest economy.

But the measures had yet to bear fruit in the six months of the year.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection's monitoring department said 338 cities reported "good" or "excellent" air quality on 74.1 percent of days in the first half, down 2.6 percentage points from last year.

In Beijing and the surrounding area, the proportion of "good air" days dropped 7.1 percentage points from last year to 50.7 percent, while the density of hazardous particulate (PM2.5) climbed 14.3 percent.

Residents of northern China were angered by the air pollution last winter after nearly a ninth of the entire country was smothered in severe smog mid-December.

Public schools and factories were temporarily closed, while cars were ordered off the roads.

"If (officials) turn a deaf ear or act indifferently, and the people, especially minors, are exposed to potential health risks, this is undoubtedly a dereliction of duty," Xinhua state news agency said at the time.

Xinhua reported Thursday that in the first half of the year, 610 million yuan ($90.44 million) in fines were issued on environmental protection violations, up 131 percent year-on-year.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged cleaner air during his annual press conference in March.

"Blue skies should no longer be a luxury," he said, "nor will they be."

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Cambodia bans overseas exports of coastal sand
Phnom Penh (AFP) July 13, 2017
Cambodia has outlawed sand exports from a coastal region where it has been primarily funnelled in huge quantities to Singapore, a move met with scepticism from activists who said previous bans on the destructive industry had failed to take root. Environmental groups have long accused Cambodia of running damaging and corrupt sand dredging operations along the southwest coast and the Mekong ri ... read more

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Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up


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