China 2/5 – Pollution

One of my major concerns before the trip was air pollution. I had read alarming news about the increasing problem in Hong Kong, which is by the sea. Beijing must be worse, I though. I was really expecting a nightmare.

Maybe I was just very lucky, but I did not suffer from air pollution at all. I have tens of pictures of clear blue skies in Beijing after the Olympics, with heavy traffic and everything. At least two points make me think it wasn’t only luck:

  • Beijing has banned diesel cars altogether. At first I was very anxious when I saw all taxi drivers go with windows open in that grinder called Beijing traffic jams. But hell, I did not “taste” or inhale anything that would have given me odd feelings. I sensed no diesel – no small particles! To compare, I think the European pro-diesel policy is sacrificing human health in the name of slowing down global warming.

  • I was also expecting a lot of scooters and other kinds of poison-emitting light vehicles often seen in pictures. When I saw the first mopeds I was ready to hold my breath. But behold: it was just an electric bicycle! I had never seen so many of them in action. Turns out, all motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, and the like are banned as well. So no more burned oil and that grey smoke that makes you cough in Southern European cities. Why couldn’t we implement something similar? At least Italy and France should take note.

The main lesson from my journey was that the air pollution problem is something we can solve. And in this matter, at least, an effective and dictating government helps a lot.

Leave a Reply