Home / Environment / Opinions Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Cities face heavy environmental protection pressure
Adjust font size:

Simply moving polluting enterprises away from cities to remote areas will not eradicate our environmental problems, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt:

Big cities face heavy environmental protection pressure. For instance, Beijing has a daily environmental index and the government also implements an annual "blue sky" plan. And environmental protection departments are especially under heavy pressure to fulfill their quota of emission cuts every year.

From this we can see that the government is very strict about emission reduction.

But how are we solving our environmental problems in large and medium-sized cities? The common practice is to move polluting enterprises such as coal-fired power and steel plants away from the cities to the remote areas.

For big cities, it produces an immediate effect. And it seems to be reasonable to move polluting enterprises to less populous places where the environment has a larger capacity to deal with pollutants. But this simple solution does not solve the pollution problem completely, and it only has a short-term effect.

The reason is quite simple: no matter whether in the city or in the countryside, the sky is the same and the land is no different. Pollutants may disappear, but in fact they are not completely dispersed. A sudden gust of wind can blow them back.

In addition, the "move-away" practice has other negative effects.

Remote areas have rather lax environmental protection measures, for the governments there are usually more concerned with GDP growth. Without adequate pressure on enterprises, less attention is paid to preventing pollution.

So, the fundamental way to solve our environmental problems is to adopt economic and legal measures, and raise awareness of the enterprises. The "move-away" method only delays the treatment of pollution.

(China Daily March 27, 2008)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous

China Archives
Related >>
- Guangdong to ban vehicles with nonstandard emission
- Shanghai white-collars' 'emission free' trip
- China reports drops in energy consumption, pollution
- Cars sold to meet new emission standards
- China confident of clean air for Beijing Olympics
- Beijing, neighboring areas ensure air quality for Olympics
Most Viewed >>
- Ambassador: China to be environment friendly
- Heavy medical supply truck debuts in Beijing
- Gov't fights against illegal sand dredging in Yangtze
- Collapsed sections in Yellow River bank patched up
- Yellow River flood kills livestock, damages homes
Air Quality 
Cities Major Pollutant Air Quality Level
Beijing particulate matter II
Shanghai particulate matter II
Guangzhou particulate matter III1
Chongqing particulate matter II
Xi'an particulate matter II
NGO Events Calendar Tips
- Hand in hand to protect endangered animals and plants
- Changchun, Mini-marathon Aimed at Protecting Siberian Tiger
- Water Walk by Nature University
- Green Earth Documentary Salon
- Prof. Maria E. Fernandez to Give a Lecture on Climate Change
More
Archives
UN meets on climate change
The UN Climate Change Conference brought together representatives of over 180 countries and observers from various organizations.
Panda Facts
A record 28 panda cubs born via artificial insemination have survived in 2006.
South China Karst
Rich and unique karst landforms located in south China display exceptional natural beauty.
Saving the Tibetan Antelopes
The rare animals survive in the harsh natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
More
Laws & Regulations
- Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China
- Meteorology Law of the People's Republic of China
- Fire Control Law of the People's Republic of China
- Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters
- Law of the People's Republic of China on Conserving Energy
More
Links:
State Environmental Protection Administration
Ministry of Water Resources
Ministry of Land and Resources
China Environmental Industry Network
Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base