The Olympics Begin!

Last night I watched the opening of the Olympics. The Chinese put on an unbelievable show. I just hope that the environmental regulations that were implemented for the games are continued after the Olympics end. The New York Times reported on it:

<< China Announces More Pollution Controls
By JIM YARDLEY
BEIJING — China’s environmental regulators on Thursday unveiled stricter emergency pollution controls for the Olympic Games that would shutter more factories and expand traffic restrictions if air quality failed to meet approved standards once the competition began next week.

The measures, posted on the Web site of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, would be invoked during the Games only in the case of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions” — for example, hot, humid air without wind to disperse pollution.

The plan would broaden existing temporary restrictions in Beijing and also include the nearby municipality of Tianjin, as well as surrounding Hebei Province. In all, the new measures would encompass a region of more than 91 million people.

Pollution has been a persistent concern for the Games, even as Chinese officials have promised to deliver clean air by imposing restrictions on cars and factories. Those measures began July 1, when more than 300,000 high-polluting vehicles were banned from the roads in Beijing.

Then on July 20, the city instituted alternate-day driving restrictions in which motorists were limited to driving on either odd or even days, depending on the last number on their license plates.

The traffic restrictions have removed roughly two million vehicles from city streets. In addition, many factories in Beijing and its outlying areas reduced production, and most major construction sites were closed.

But the expected radiant, blue skies have yet to appear. For four days, Beijing’s gray, stifling skies failed to meet China’s national air quality standards, which are more lenient than those in the United States. The situation has improved in recent days as colder air and rain have washed out some of the pollution, even as the skies remain mostly milky or gray.

“I’m optimistic,” said Zhu Tong, a Peking University professor who is an air quality adviser for the Olympics. “If it keeps raining like this, it would be great.”>>>

Let's just hope its not acid rain....