Can you cut 1 Tonne of carbon pollution out of your life?
Take the challengeChina, and Beijing especially, are not areas that would ever be associated with pristine air quality. In fact, if you’re looking for a picture of smog, ‘China’ appears in the top list of suggested links without even having to type the word.
[Image: The Guardian]
A study released by the University of California, Berkley has estimated that China sees 1.6 million deaths per year from outdoor air pollution. That's about 4,400 people every day.
READ MORE: Air pollution facts that will leave you gasping
So how did Beijing go from this:
[Image: Bloomberg]
To this. Then back to the image below in the space of two weeks?
Earlier this month China held a massive military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of their defeat over Japan in WWII.
[Image: Greg Baker/Getty Images]
In the lead up to the parade, Beijing's 5 million registered cars were banned from being on the road and hundreds of the cities factories had forced closures. The result was two weeks of clear skies and an unprecedented rise in air quality rating.
[Image: CNN]
Beijing's air quality index (AQI) normally sits at 160 (out of 500). This rating comes with severe health warnings, air will taste metallic, visibility is low, and the very young and very old are encouraged to stay indoors and avoid strenuous activity.
“MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN CHINA ARE BREATHING A HAZARDOUS COCKTAIL OF CHEMICALS EVERY DAY. THESE CHEMICALS ARE CAUSED BY COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS, FACTORIES AND VEHICLES, AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR HEART DISEASE, STROKE, RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES, BIRTH DEFECTS AND CANCER.”- Greenpeace East Asia
Yet on the day of the parade, Beijing's air quality came in at 17; sitting at the top of the air quality scale in the "healthy air" quality range. The very next day, however, was a different story.
Just 24 hours after factories had reopened and cars were allowed back on the road Beijing's air quality skyrocketed back to previous levels, leaving the city once again under a visible layer of smog.
[Image: VICE]
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Do you think China should be taking more action to increase air quality? or are we to blame for our consumerist behaviours that drive the Chinese production economy? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
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