In preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese government is embarking on a desperately needed $12 billion environmental overhaul. Within a decade, China may overtake the United States as the leading producer of greenhouse gases, and 7 of the world’s 10 most air-polluted cities are Chinese. Furthermore, sulfur from the coal-fired plants that provide 75 percent of China’s electricity is eating away at agricultural yields, and the country faces severe deforestation and desertification (which contributes to Beijing’s blistering sandstorms), water pollution, and buildups of toxic chemicals. “The magnitude of the environmental problems is really daunting,” says Barbara Finamore, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s China Clean Energy Project.
As part of the Olympian cleanup, Beijing will add thousands of natural-gas-fueled buses and more than 100 miles of light-rail lines to its transportation system. The city has also stepped up sewage treatment and the planting of deforested areas. ...
