Chinese Pollution Plan Includes Tougher Fines
By Chris Buckley
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's water and air are straining to cope with the country's industrial take-off, the government said on Monday, vowing steps to make polluters pay more for environmental damage.
The cabinet gave a stark picture of ecological damage when belatedly releasing the country's plan for environmental protection from 2006 to 2010.
"The conflict between our country's economic and social development and environment and resources grows starker by the day," said the plan, released on the government's Web site (www.gov.cn). "Environmental protection faces severe challenges."
The five-year plan urges officials to abandon a fixation on economic growth and turn to cutting pollution that the document says threatens citizens' health and long-term prosperity.
At the end of the previous five-year plan that ended in 2005, water in 26 percent of "key" lakes and rivers targeted for clean-up was so contaminated that it was classified as unfit even to touch or to irrigate crops.
Emissions of sulphur dioxide, the industrial pollutant that causes acid rain, grew by almost a third, despite a goal set in 2000 to cut emissions by 10 percent.
The new plan brings together a set of policy promises that have mostly been announced before: cutting two key pollution measures by 10 percent between 2006 and 2010; healing stretches of spoiled lakes and rivers; and recycling much more of the waste and domestic run-off from growing towns and cities.
Officials are urged to do more to rein in greenhouse gas emissions by embracing energy-saving technology and policies and growing more forests to absorb rising carbon dioxide levels that scientists say are dangerously heating the atmosphere.
Beijing has set similar goals before, only to be overwhelmed by the break-neck economic growth that many local officials see as vital to more jobs and revenue.
But the new plan spells out that the government wants to tie environmental goals to policy measures that may hit polluters through tougher fines and revenue restrictions.
"Clean-ups of industrial pollution must follow the principle that the polluter bears responsibility," the plan states, also urging tax reforms to discourage waste and pollution.
"Give scope to the role of price levers and establish a pollution emissions pricing and fees mechanism that reflects the costs of cleaning up pollution," it says.
Trading in emissions quotas for sulfur dioxide may also be introduced in areas where "feasible."
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The main attraction of the site, is that it is green social networking site. So much like myspace it is a place where green users can all come together and make profiles about themselves while looking at other profiles. I personally think this is a great idea, now I can find other users with like minded interests. If you sign up be sure to add me as your friend, my username: tecknopuppy, I hope to see you there.
en fuel-cell vehicle, hydrogen combines with oxygen in the vehicle's fuel-cell stack, and energy from the reaction is converted into electricity to power the vehicle. Pretty neat ha?
of having your own fueling station at home, but you have to have existing natural gas lines in your home for it to work. Furthermore, it seems a bit ironic that the new Fuel Cell Vehicle developed is suppose to use Hydrogen as a fuel source which is very abundant...but converts it from a depleting resource...natural gas. Natural gas is just as much in jeopardy as is oil. And the United States imports a lot of natural gas from Canada as it is.
Eventually the next stages of the Honda Fuel Cell project will be released in the Washington DC area and New York that will begin next year. Hydrogen based Fuel Cell Vehicles is a step in the right direction and very futuristic, but we need to develop a better technology to extract hydrogen in a cheap and reliable method that doesn't consume an already depleting resource.
It's sad because this was where I grew up and hearing dozens of beaches closing and rescue workers scurrying to minimize environmental damage is hard. The governor even declared the area a state of emergency as the investigation continues. Someone has to be blamed for this accident. The cleanup will continue on for weeks and even months, and there will be long lasting effects.
As much as I love the environment and believe that something must be done before we destroy our planet, I am completely against a worldwide global carbon tax. It is especially unfair to third world countries who are the victims of first world pollution and greenhouse gases. Nevertheless there are many supporters of a carbon tax of some sort whether it is city wide, industry wide, or statewide. Some prominent global leaders are awaiting the successor to the Kyoto Treaty which hasn't done very much to mitigate harmful effects of climate change. One could argue that the effects of climate change are now being seen with odd and extreme weather across the world.
es if you are in the market to buy. I wish I had used this service before I purchased my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid last year. I am sure I could saved a buck or two. For those 
environmentalists out there that are planning on purchasing a new hybrid or flex fuel vehicle, check out this site. You'll get up to 2 quotes, and it's fast and FREE. Please remember, that the 2008 models have a lot of hybrids to choose from, as well as cars that will run on bio-fuel. One hot new hybrid out for the 2008 models are the Saturn Aura's and Saturn Vue's. They are the best priced for hybrids and they have also been getting a lot of attention in the media. Take your time and make sure you are happy with your new eco friendly cars. The Toyota Prius is still a very popular choice. Check out the site and be merry.
The move will actually cut down on costs in the long run and actually qualifies them for $1.6 million in rebates from the state. It makes you wonder why every business is not investing in some form of solar energy as a supplement to their current energy. It cuts costs down and can actually see returns on the investments over time and though state financed incentives.
