Tokyo Tells Large Buildings to Cut CO2 Emissions. Now, Beijing is banning high-emission vehicles. For whatever reason these kinds of things remind me of a ceasefire in a war. If they can stop now, or for a while, why can’t they stop for good? Yellow vehicles are those with, surprise, a yellow sticker on them for not being able to meet Euro I emission standards.

“All yellow-labeled vehicles, most of which are freight trucks, will be banned from roads in Beijing from July 1 to Sept 20,” says Beijing’s environmental protection bureau.

Yesterday Beijing announced that government vehicle usage must be halved…all of this in the run up to the Olympics. So, are the Olympics more important than the planet’s long term livelihood? Seriously, if these kinds of measures can be taken temporarily, why not permanently? Beijing was able to meet its goal of 246 blue-sky days last year. I think we had about 365 such days here in the Valley. (Eating your heart out Beijing?) Seriously, Beijing is to be credited for taking action.

Most yellow-tagged vehicles run through Beijing at night. Think freight trucks. Not surprisingly, Beijing measures 20% more pollutants in the air at night than in the daytime. From 9pm to 4am to be precise. In order to catch the perpetrators, Beijing will patrol 22 laser remote sensing cars to check emissions. How cool is that? It takes about 0.7 seconds to determine emission levels of vehicles. Go Beijing!

Now, where can I get me one of those laser thingees?

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I get the message when I visit third-world countries. But the U.K.? The message is “Don’t drink the water.” Apparently some 170,000 Brits who get their water provided by Anglian Water were warned to boil the water before drinking it. Traces of a stomach bug have been found. The bug has a name - cryptosporidium. With a name like that you would think Superman wouldn’t drink it either. The tap water is still safe for washing, bathing and toilet flushing. Yeah, a clean bug is a healthy bug, right?

So, how did a first-world country like Britain come down with a problem like this? And if it’s in the water, what kinds of pollution might be found in other places in the country? Is anybody worried?

Everything you wanted to know about cryptosporidium.

source

We say, or at least some people say, that two heads are better than one. The Japanese say “sannin yoreba monchuu no chie” which roughly translates to three heads being better than one.

But, not always.

In China’s Hunan province a gecko has been found with a head on each of its body. The little fellow was found wandering to and fro, back and forth, going here and there, trying to make up his minds in an antique shop. He’s slow, but can go both directions.

“Where you want to go?”

“I don’t know. Where you want to go?”

Meanwhile -

In Japan, not wanting to be outdone by China, a two headed turtle was found in Moriyama. The little boy who found him named the amphibian ‘Takara’ meaning treasure. The cause? Researchers say it was NOT pollution but rather some sort of natural phenomenon. Takara is alive!

Yeah, right!

More critters with two heads -

A two faced cat.

A two headed goat.

A two headed snake.

Another two headed turtle.

A two headed lamb born in China

A two headed arowana fish in an aquarium shop in Shah Alam. They are not dead but can’t swim either.

My advice … don’t drink the water.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I can think of a couple of hundred reasons to drive a car instead of walk, bike, or inline skate.

Pollution, smution…

In Madrid, Spain, protesters stripped down and rode naked on bicycles to protest against the expansion of automobile use instead of riding a bike.

I’m only seeing the backside in these pix, but from what I do see, I am not that interested in what’s up front.

But, then again, I’d like to get a talking to from some of these protesters.

In the meantime, I am somewhat inclined to keep driving depending on who might ride naked to try and stop me.

City of Boulder, Wyoming, and its 75 souls that live there have something in common with much larger cities across North America: high levels of air pollution. The root cause for the bad air is the region’s booming natural gas industry because the Sublette County is home to one of the largest natural gas reserves in the United States.

Craig Jensen, resident of the unincorporated community of Boulder, is concerned of the changes. He said that the sky is no longer colored or the horizon crystal clear as they used to be. “Makes you wonder what it’s going to do to the grass, the trees and the birds”, he said. He’s right and Wyoming issued the first ozone alerts after ground-level ozone numbers exceeded healthy levels, 11 times since January.

Boulder, Wyoming is not meeting federal air-quality standards right now and if things won’t change there will be drastic measures that will affect everyone in the region including the energy sector.

Gas developers in the area said they are working to reduce ozone and emissions. They insisted their companies should continue drilling.

The Department of Environmental Quality is aware of the air problem in the area and David Finley said “We understand that the people who are living up there cannot wait two or three years for us to develop regulatory tools.” They are working together with the gas companies, on a plan to reduce air pollution in the area.

Craig Jensen, have seen the both sides of a booming gas industry in the area. He’s been paid royalties for wells on his land, which allowed him to buy all sorts of “toys”, but he’s now wishing the good old days to come back, with clear skies, less traffic and fewer people.

Source [AP]

Haile Gebrselassie a 34 years old Ethiopian runner, the guy that managed to break over 25 world records and won numerous Olympic and World Championship titles, has recently declined going to the Beijing Olympics because of air pollution.

The marathon champ who suffers from asthma told Reuters in a phone interview:

“The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42 kilometers in my current condition.”

He will race on track though, probably in the 10,000 meter race.

Though Beijing has 17 million residents, 3 million cars and sandstorms from time to time the authorities said they’re are taking all the measures to ensure a cleaner air by the time the Summer Olympics start. I sure hope they get it done because I’d enjoy a good run.

via GreenDaily (photo by minuano12)

If until now I thought Milan to be the capital of fashion and great soccer, things have changed and surprisingly they have another badge to add. Milan is the “Pollution Capital of Europe” and the main reasons to believe so, are toxic fumes from traffic clogged streets.

photo by Dunc-It

However, the fact that they rank first place on pollution in Europ isn’t the biggest shock or concern. Macedonio Melloni hospital warned that such levels of pollution are considered guilty for high infant mortality rates and for making children sick. Breathing problems, heart diseases and cancer are the effects of very high levels of pm10s which are extremely small particles coming from car exhausts, that affect both adult people and in particular children.

Research conducted by Dr Fiocchi from the Macedonio Melloni hospital revealed that in a 10-day period when pm10s levels where averaging 67 ug/m3, 176 admissions have been recored, while on another 10-day period that averaged 110 ug/m3 which is way over the limit, the admissions topped at 401 more than double. February 15 is the record with pm10s levels reaching 185 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which is almost 4 times over the official limit.

“The figures confirmed the urgent need to limit the damage that is affecting one child in four in the region” he said.

Ironically, the fact that the air in Milan is so bad comes a few months the Ecopass system - a daily pass that you pay money for to enter the city - has been put in place.

Lung specialist, Prof Luigi Allegra of Milan University has pointed out a few ways of fighting with air pollution in Milan, out of which creating new metro lines and better public transportation are just a few. He also mentioned that diesel cars use should be discouraged because diesel engines provide 100 times more pm10s.

There are solutions, they just need to accept that there’s a problem.

via Telegraph