(Beijing smog, from space.)
Many an environmentalist harbors a shameful crush on China's
command-and-control state--or, at least, on its vaunted ability to shut down
factories and vehicle travel at will to reduce air pollution.
But will Beijing's
pre-Olympic plan to scrub its skies actually work? One climate expert tells
Wired "no":
And yet, at least in terms of air
quality, one veteran atmospheric chemist says that China's outsized efforts will have
little to no impact on the air. Why? Because Beijing's
worst air-quality days are often not the result of human activities, but
meteorological phenomena--namely, the lack of cold fronts pushing across the
city from Mongolia.
...
"They cannot depend on weather
modification. Nature is bigger and stronger than the Chinese people and
rockets," Rahn said. "The west has known this for 50 years but China
is in the stage of development where they think science and technology can do
everything."
In other words, curtailing industry (and cloud seeding) three weeks before the
Games may be the public-policy equivalent of starving yourself before
swimsuit season--doomed to fail, and not a healthy substitute for regular exercise.
--Barron YoungSmith