The article in New York Times dated 30th January 2013, explains the possible emergency measures that can be used in reducing the thick smog that is encasing the city of Beijing. The measures suggested were temporary shut-down of more than a hundred factories, and removal of a third of government vehicles off the street. The air condition in the city has been found to be hazardous for any living creature. This was a report given by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The air quality index was way above 300 making it hard and dangerous to do any outdoor ventures.
Beijing government officials are acknowledging the severity of pollution, and they are trying to address the situation. The appointed mayor of the city, Wang Anshun came up with a temporary plan to combat the pollution problem. He suggests that the increasing number of vehicles in Beijing streets should be reduced by removing 180,000 old vehicles from the roads. He also urged the city to engage in the use of clean energy sources, particularly for heating systems and government vehicles. Growing trees was the third measure, and a 250 square miles land was proposed for this purpose in the next five years. Beijing’s hope is to have clean water, balanced education system, blue skies and less traffic as before.
The prime minister, Wen Jiabao had an economic development seminar, where he also addressed the issue of pollution. He advised the public to direct their efforts at promoting the reduction of emissions and saving energy, optimizing industrial structures and using advanced ecological systems. The “growth at any cost” attitude present in China should be ended since it is the principle cause of the immense environmental damages in the country. Beijing is located in the middle of coal producing factories and cleaning up the environment will take some years.
