A factory fire in eastern China raged out of control unnoticed for hours Monday, after local residents were unable to distinguish the smoke from the dense smog that has filled the region. The official Xinhua news agency says the furniture factory in Zheijiang province burned for nearly three hours before residents noticed the blaze. It […]
China: Factory Fire Burns Unnoticed for Hours Because of Smog
Posted January 15th, 2013 at 3:45 am (UTC-5)
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Beijing Air Quality Worst on Record
Posted January 13th, 2013 at 12:20 am (UTC-5)
Beijing is under an extreme smog warning Sunday, with pollution at hazardous levels for a third day, and people warned to stay indoors. The municipal environment warning center issued an alert Saturday in China’s capital, advising the elderly, children and those suffering respiratory or cardiovascular illness to avoid going out or doing strenuous exercise. The […]
China Suspends Industrial Project in East After Days of Protests
Posted October 28th, 2012 at 2:00 pm (UTC-5)
Authorities in eastern China have suspended construction at a petrochemical complex after days of protests by residents who fear that it will pollute the region. Municipal officials in Ningbo city said Sunday a planned expansion of the complex is on hold pending a “scientific review” of its environmental impact. The petrochemical facility in Ningbo’s coastal […]
China: Foreign Air Pollution Readings ‘Illegal’
Posted June 5th, 2012 at 4:35 am (UTC-5)
A senior Chinese environmental official says air pollution readings posted by foreign embassies are an unacceptable interference in Chinese internal affairs. The comments made Tuesday by Vice Environment Minister Wu Xiaoqing were a clear reference to the air quality readings posted regularly on the Twitter page of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Wu said only […]
China: Foreign Air Pollution Readings ‘Illegal’
Posted June 5th, 2012 at 3:20 am (UTC-5)
A senior Chinese environmental official says air pollution readings posted by foreign embassies are an unacceptable interference in Chinese internal affairs. The comments made Tuesday by Vice Environment Minister Wu Xiaoqing were a clear reference to the air quality readings posted regularly on the Twitter page of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Wu said only […]
US Proposes New Power Plant Pollution Controls
Posted March 27th, 2012 at 2:10 pm (UTC-5)
The United States for the first time is proposing to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, a controversial regulation that could sharply curb the use of pollution-causing coal to produce electricity in the country. Environmental Protection Agency Chief Lisa Jackson on Tuesday called the new controls “a common-sense step” to sharply curb the emission […]
Yangtze River Pollution Prompts Panic in China
Posted February 8th, 2012 at 3:50 am (UTC-5)
Chinese authorities are dealing with the second water pollution scare in less than a month, after authorities in eastern China said an acid used in detergents had contaminated a regional water supply. State media reported Wednesday that officials in Jiangsu province found the chemical phenol in the Yangtze River, which supplies most of the water […]
China Begins Effort to Come Clean on Pollutants
Posted January 21st, 2012 at 1:10 pm (UTC-5)
Chinese officials are starting to post new data about air quality on the Internet, but already there are questions about the reliability of the information. The effort by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center comes in response to repeated calls from the public for better information about what exactly is in Beijing’s smog-filled air. The […]
Beijing to Publish More Precise Air Quality Data
Posted January 6th, 2012 at 2:20 am (UTC-5)
Beijing authorities say they will start publicizing more precise data on the city’s air quality, after a public outcry that the government was understating pollution levels. The Chinese capital currently bases its air quality on particles of 10 micrometers or larger, known as PM10, and does not take into account the smaller particulates that experts […]
EU Court Approves Airline Pollution-Control Scheme
Posted December 21st, 2011 at 2:45 pm (UTC-5)
International airlines that fly into Europe have lost a bid to block a law that charges them for their carbon pollution, a measure that will soon boost the cost of traveling to and within the continent. The European Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that the law including airlines in the European Union’s emissions trading scheme […]
