Bad economy clears China’s air
TAIYUAN, China — The residents of Taiyuan measure their air pollution in dirty clothes.
In years past, when China’s boom created endless demand for this area’s coal, iron and steel, a white shirt stayed fresh only a few hours, turning black around the collar and sleeves before day’s end. When the government shut down hundreds of factories in and around Taiyuan ahead of the Olympics last year, clean shirts began to last two days. Now, six months into an economic slowdown that has snuffed demand for power and metals from China’s furnace, a man’s suit can stay crisp for three days without laundering.
“I don’t need to do so much laundry these days,” said Zhao Jihong, a 25-year-old environmentalist who works to encourage local companies to adopt pollution controls.
If there is a bright spot amid the global economic slump for China, it may be in the air — and in the water and soil. Dramatically slowed production in recent months has meant less pollution. In notoriously filthy places like Taiyuan, the capital of China’s coal country, that means more relatively blue skies and healthier breathing.
Grayish-brown smog still hangs in the air over Taiyuan, which has consistently ranked among the world’s most polluted cities. Yet even with the acrid smell and black traces of coal dust all around, its residents maintain things have improved immensely.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/china-and-its-neighbors/090226/bad-economy-better-lungs
