| | | quote | Originally posted by newf:
BEIJING—Pollution in Beijing was so bad Friday the U.S. Embassy, which has been independently monitoring air quality, ran out of conventional adjectives to describe it, at one point saying it was "crazy bad."
http://www.boston.com/news/...uality_is_crazy_bad/ |
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Kudos to Beijing: Gasoline & Diesel Prices Increased
Correction: Has hell frozen over? CELB has made an error. We have just emerged from a strenuous self-criticism session, and have agreed to forgo this afternoon’s fourth Diet Coke. In addition, we have been forced to correct our boo boo below. We are not entirely to blame. The Economic Observer Online (EOO) made a typographical error when it reported the new price of Grade 93 gasoline in Beijing after the recent price hikes. EOO reported 3.67 yuan/liter; the correct price (as we noted on our recent trip to Beijing) is 6.37 yuan/liter. Yes, the 3.67 price was significantly lower than the price for higher gas grades and diesel, but we assumed that was the result of heavy government subsidization. Of course we all know the wages of assumption. In any event, I’ve corrected the post below using exchange rates, etc. as of today: October 22, 2008.
Corrected Post:
The Beijing Development and Reform Commission (the local NDRC) is hiking gasoline prices. The Economic Observer Online reports that yesterday “the retail benchmark prices for gasoline and diesel” was “upped 200 and 290 yuan per ton respectively.” The increase was “meant to compensate the increased cost in processing cleaner fuels conforming to Euro IV standard, which leads to lower pollutant emission and more environmental friendly.”
The report notes that the government raised gasoline prices nationwide by 1,000 yuan/ton in June (discussed here) in a move to alleviate pressure on local refineries caused by “rising global crude oil prices.” With global oil prices now falling, one motivating force behind this move must be to increase the cost of driving a car in Beijing.
What does this move mean at the pump?
The two large state-owned oil companies, Sinopec and PetroChina, are permitted to raise the retail price of gasoline by about 0.17 yuan/liter and diesel by 0.27 yuan/liter (Do both of these companies have retail outlets in Beijing? I thought they had, at least roughly, divided the country between them). Thus
* Grade 93 gasoline1: 6.37 yuan/liter
* Grade 97 gasoline: 6.78 yuan/liter
* Grade Zero diesel: 6.50 yuan/liter
For those of you more comfortable with, Euros, pounds, or dollars (and gallons rather than liters) I’ve provided a handy conversion guide. Beijing pump prices for Grade 93 in:
* Euros (€): .57/liter
* Pounds (£): .73/liter
* US Dollars ($)2: 3.53/gallon
Remember, of course, that gasoline prices in the US and Europe include a fairly significant tax component which is not added to the retail price in China.
For instance, the average US price for regular unleaded gasoline for the week ending October 20, 2008 was $ 2.91/gallon last week. Gasoline is taxed at both the state and federal level in the US, but the average tax burden is 47 cents per gallon. Thus, an apple to apples comparison would put US prices at $2.44/gallon vs. $3.53/gallon in China.
http://www.chinaenvironment...el-prices-increased/China’s Blacklisted Cities
Think it’s bad where you are? It could be worse. The following Chinese cities have been singled out for disapprobation by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) regarding their environmental records:
Bad Air:
* Bayannur and Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia
* Baiyin, Gansu
* Urumqi, Xinjiang
* Huanggang, Hubei
Bad Water:
* Hengshui and Cangzhou, Hebei
* Linfen, Shanxi
* Fuyang, Anhui
* Tongchuan, Shaanxi
* Wuwei, Gansu
If you’d like to know where these cities are, click the map markers below:
View Larger Map.
Curiously, however, the cities with the worst “public satisfaction” rates in terms of local environmental protection efforts are not on the lists. They are:
* Datong, Shanxi
* Hezhou, Guangxi
Are there any bright spots? Actually based on the survey results that accompanied the name and shame announcement things are generally getting better in terms of wastewater treatment and solid and hazardous waste disposal. But MEP called on cities to “further improve their sewage-handling and recycling capabilities, and develop effective ways to treat sludge and hazardous liquids produced by sewage and garbage disposal plants.”
The cities with the highest “public satisfaction” rates (in excess of 90%) are
* Linyi, Dongying, Rizhao and Yantai, Shandong Province
* Daqing, and Heihe, Heilongjiang Province
http://www.chinaenvironment...-blacklisted-cities/China’s Environmentally Satisfying Cities
My last post focused on those Chinese cities blacklisted for poor environmental performance, but it also mentioned several cities where 90%+ of the population was “satisfied” with the local environmental protection efforts. These cities belong on the gold star list.
They were concentrated in two provinces Shandong and Heilongjiang. We’ll look at the Shandong cities today: Dongying (东营), Linyi (临沂), Rizhao (日照), and Yantai (烟台). Here’s a map showing their locations:
View Larger Map
Dongying (东营)
It’s hard to find a lot of specifics on what Dongying has done to satisfy its citizens as to its environmental protection efforts. It has clearly attempted to establish itself as an “ecological city,” but then so have many other cities in China, but perhaps not so early or so eloquently as Dongying
With people much more deeply understanding sustainable development, the problems about ecological environment are taken seriously by them. In the light of the fact that the ecological environment is flimsy and the soil resources are abundant, the city development goal of Dongying is put forward, which is to establish outstanding ecological city.
Dongying efforts to make itself more environmentally friendly began at least 4 years ago. A 2004 article noted that Dongying “is shifting from chasing mere growth to balancing eco-environmental construction with economic development.” The then mayor (not sure if he’s still there) said: “Our goal is to turn Dongying into a modern economic centre of the Yellow River Delta area, as well as a pivotal ecological urban centre of the Pacific Rim by 2020.”
Dongying’s rating is especially surprising because it sits atop the country’s second largest oilfield, Shengli Oilfield.
Though dubbed one of the country’s major petroleum-related industrial cities, Dongying has received honourable environmental protection and city construction titles in recent years. The awards have covered areas such as water and soil safeguarding.
Despite its oil resources, Dongying is the site of a new 48 megawatt windfarm.
The 2004 mayor explained that the local government “will brand ecological culture into people’s minds.” If nothing else, it appears its mind branding efforts have been successful.
Linyi (临沂)
Its even harder to find specifics on what makes Linyi so green, but fortunately we have Shanghai Scrap’s Adam Mintner who has toured and reported on Linyi China Electronic Recycling Center (go read the whole post and see the pictures). As Adam noted in a comment on my previous post:
Linyi’s been a laboratory for the development of recycling and solid waste methods for several years now. In a decade, when people think of “e-scrap” and “China,” they won’t be thinking of the environmental catastrophe in Guiyu, they’ll be thinking about the innovations and partnerships in Linyi.
Good luck Linyi.
Rizhao (日照)
There is no shortage of information on Rizhao’s environmental credentials. As you would expect from a city named sunshine:
The city of Rizhao combines incentives and legislative tools to encourage the large-scale, efficient use of renewable energy, especially solar energy. 99% of Rizhao’s households use solar water heaters. In the suburbs and villages, more than 30 percent of households use solar water heaters, and over 6,000 households have solar cooking facilities. Almost all traffic lights, street lights and park illuminations are powered by photovoltaic solar cells.
Widespread use of solar energy has reduced the use of coal and helped to improve the environmental quality of Rizhao. The vision was to enhance environment thus helping the city’s social, economic, and cultural development in the long run. Solar energy is seen as a starting point to trigger this positive cycle. And after 15 years of promoting solar energy this has proven effective. In 2007 the city is attracting a rapidly increasing amount of foreign direct investment. According to city officials, environment is one of the key factors bringing these investors to Rizhao.
Rizhao’s own promotional materials boast that in 2005 “Rizhao was awarded the title of ‘National Model City of Environmental Protection.’”
Yantai (烟台)
Yantai doesn’t appear to have a single strong suit like Rizhao’s solar energy; it just appears to be an all-around good place to live. Here’s the German Chamber of Commerce on Yantai:
Yantai has a temperate climate with an average annual temperature of 11.8°C and humidity of 68% in YHDZ . It is nestled between the mountains and the sea with a coastline of 21.5 km. Forty-one percent of the district is covered in trees, plants and flowers. It has excellent air quality, is cool in summer and warm in winter. In this zone, there is an excellent living environment with well equipped cultural, sports and entertainment facilities. In 2005 Yantai was granted the “UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award”. If Yantai is such a city of this award, then YHDZ is the most representative. Yantai has been granted the following awards:
* The U.N. Best Living Environment Award (in 2005)
* National Excellent Tourism City
* National Garden City
* National Hygienic City
* International Vine and Wine City
* National Model City for Environmental Protection
* National Top 50 Cities in Terms of General Strength
* National Top 40 Cities in Terms of Investment Environment
