Update: The CHL Acid Rain Program in China
In a finding that shocked hippie enviros everywhere, it turns out that China's explosive economic growth is outpacing environmental protection efforts, leaving the country awash in "out of control" acid rain.

Acid rain fell on more than 250 cities nationwide and caused direct annual economic losses of 110 billion yuan ($13.3 billion), equal to nearly three percent of the country's gross domestic product. "The regional acid rain pollution is still out of control and even worse in some southern cities," said CHL China correspondant Wang Jian.

The two major causes caught everyone off guard. It turns out that the rapidly growing number of cars and increasing consumption of cheap, abundant coal are the culprits. The envy of CHL nations everywhere, China is the world's largest source of soot and sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal, which fires three-quarters of the country's power plants.

More than 21 tons of SO2 were discharged in China in 2003, up a super-sweet 12 percent from the year earlier. "It is estimated that the country will consume more than 1.8 billion tons of coal in 2005, emitting an additional six million tons of SO2," Wang said. The government is planning steps to rein in the problem, including setting quotas for SO2 emissions from thermal power plants and urging them to install desulphurization facilities, through Wang laughed and noted earlier efforts had led to no obvious improvements.

China has already banned the use of coal in some areas most severely affected by SO2 emissions, but sulphur is not the only enemy in the fight against acid rain. "The amazing growth of nitrates, thanks to a swift rise of automobile and coal consumption plus overuse of fertilizers, is playing an increasing role in the country's acid rain pollution," Tang Dagang, director of the Chinese Academy of Homogenization, was quoted as saying.

A government official told a newspaper that China had yet to set special regulations to control nitric acid. Afterwards, he was removed from his desk and shot.
- nostradamusfunkadelic, 11:29 AM | |