For weeks, months and years, people are talking about the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. With the Olympics coming closer, more and more people take a closer look at China, the city itself and the environment.
A remarkable amount of articles featuring the air pollution in China’s capital was already released in the press.
Beijing and the surrounding area is home to about 14million people. In the inner city, 3 million cars can be found on the streets every day. 80% of all cars are privately owend.
Last week, Australian doctors released a new study on the air pollution in the metropolis. As a conclusion they said that China is holding back important data so that outstanding source can’t accurately analyse the pollution.
The IOC released exact guidelines about air pollution and regulations about gree
High air pollution can increase asthma attacks and even cause heart problems. Especially endangered are athletes in endurance events.
As a result, China already announced that they will not ban private cars on the street during the Olympics but will introduce a new system that allows cars with odd numbers and cars with even numbers to drive on specific dates. A test run of the system showed that about 1 million cars less were on the streets. A lack of public transportantion is one of the reasons why Beijing can not ban public cars.
Although China works on the problem and tries to find a solution to improve air quality, several Olympic Comittees already announced that they are going to arrive as late as possible to the games.
Jacques Rogge, IOC president announced that he is willing to postpone events if the air pollution is too high.
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