Linfen, China: China’s Most Polluted City Moves up a Notch
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany 
on 04. 3.07
According to China's latest pollution rankings, the country’s most polluted city is now Urumqi. Linfen, the city that formally held this title, is showing some small progress, says a recent article in The Guardian. Swallowed up by 50m tonnes of coal mined each year in the nearby hills of Shanxi province and located smack in the middle of a 12-mile industrial belt, Linfen plains to shutdown 160 of 196 iron foundries, and 57 of 153 coking plants by the end of 2007. In 2006, if you lived in Linfen, you inhaled 163 days of unhealthy air—but that’s a 15 day improvement when compared to 2005.
Despite recent green policies, cleanup efforts, and the launch of a green building program, economic growth usually crushes environmental concerns in China. In Bejing, the curtain of smog over the city was only recently labeled haze--previously, it was called fog.
Therefore, the improvement in Linfen is remarkable. “The changes are being driven by business (nobody wants to invest in such a polluted place), bureaucratic self-interest (local officials find it difficult to be promoted) and shifting political priorities,” The Guardian reports. Thanks tipster Mike. ::The Guardian
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I think they should turn this smog into a public park, like they do here:
http://quixoticals.blogspot.com/2007/04/turning-smog-into-public-park.html
I hate to be so pessimistic, but what is happening in China is that though some of the wealthier cities are getting cleaner, the really bad polluters still remain. They are just moving elsewhere.
It is wonderful to see that China is making such drastic inroads in curbing its overpopulation.
By creating an environment that is essentially unfit to live in China assures that the life expectancy of a significant part of its population will be drastically curtailed. This is a good thing.
pollution, the depression of knowing that one lives in a place that is unfit for life, a society where people smoke like... smoke stacks and cars do not have to have the same environmental safeguards as in the Western world, together with an ever growing pressure to work harder and harder just to accumulate stuff that will be gathering dust in the house -has- to be a major contributing series of factors that will sharply reduce an overabundant population.
Go China! You guys are part of a winning team, never change a thing! I love you just the way you are.
/not sarcasm, unadulterated cynism, and well-deserved.
It's sad when you see mismanagement and abuse of natural resources. I have expereinced this in the quality of some teas being produced in recent years from China. As I collect Puerh Cha, a form of age tea I have often requested teas from older stocks produced before 2004.
Varat
http://www.puerhcha.com
apparently about 70% of china`s rivers are overpolluted. I imagine there are lots of food items coming out of china. I propose all foods expored out of that country be tested for pollutants(im sure they are to some extent.. but i think laws have laxed in the last dozen years.)
keep trying to clean up realllllllly good ! :)
how do they get so much coal????? I am american not chinese so yeah this is for my report that is why i am posting a comment. China is doing really bad of all that coal so if u have answer tell me i am from michigan
POLLUTION TO THE OROYA CITY PERÚ
The years 2006 and 2007 the Blacksmith Institute have accomplished a research about the cities more contaminated to the world and arrived to the conclusion that the Oroya city was between the 10 cities more polluted of the world and, the environment Graffiti 2008 said that is between five more pollute too to the world. This qualifications are benevolents; according to my researchs to many years who I am publishing, the Oroya city is the most polluted to Peru, Latin America and of the world and every day is being more polluted: lead in blood in children in the Ancient Oroya in average 53.7 ug/dl ( DIGESA 1999); pregnancies women 39.49 ig/dl ( UNES 2000), new borns children 19.06 ug/dl, puerperal 319 ug/100 grams/placenta ( Castro 2003) and workers 50 ug/dl ( Doe Run 2003).Top lead in blood accepted 10 ug/dl; present day is 0 ug/dl ( Pediatric of Academy to USA)
When the Oroya city was in hands to the CentroMin eliminated only by the upper chimney to 167.500 meters, in average by day in tons: sulfur dioxide 1000, lead 2500, arsenic 2500, cadmium 40, particulate matter 50 and so on, more 24,000 to toxis gas product to the incomplete combustion of the coal, without count it is eliminated by industrial incinerator y by the 97 smalls chimneys, it is estimated 15,000; overall 45,000 tons for day (PAMA . El Complejo Metalúrgico de la Oroya, 1996); other research say that by this chimney only eliminate overall 119¨917,440 tons too every day to a velocity to 8.7 meters by second ( Chuquimantari C. Yauli-La Oroya Minería y Ciudades Empresas Pág. 57, 1992)
Doe Run envoy every three months the concentrations of the heavy metals to the Ministry to the Energy and Mines and with the sames datums Ceverstav have demostrated the pollution was increased; for example the sulfur dioxide it have increased in near to 300 %, by increment to the production (Cederstav. La Oroya no Espera 2002
The American Association to the Environment say that the environmental quality to the Oroya it is serious deteriorated since that Doe Run was owner and the same enterprise
declared that the concentrations of the heavy metals gas is ncreased in the air: lead 1160 %, cadmium 1990 % and arsenic 6006 % (Portugal, et al. Los Humos de Doe Run 2003)
Godofredo Arauzo
godo_ara@hotmail.com