China Announces More Pollution Controls
Jim Yardley reports in the New York Times:
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 fails to meet approved standards once the competition begins on Aug. 8.
The measures, posted on the Web site of the State Environmental Protection Administration, would only be invoked during the Games in the case of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions” — for example, hot, humid air without winds 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.
