Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumChina To Ban All Coal Use In Beijing
Probably less privileged areas will still be taking it in the shorts, though.
http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2014/08/china-to-ban-all-coal-use-in-beijing?et_cid=4083474&et_rid=54679148&location=top
China's smog-plagued capital has announced plans to ban the use of coal by the end of 2020 as the country fights deadly levels of pollution, especially in major cities.
Beijing's Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau posted the plan on its website Monday, saying the city would instead prioritize electricity and natural gas for heating.
The official Xinhua News Agency said coal accounted for a quarter of Beijing's energy consumption in 2012 and 22 percent of the fine particles floating in the city's air. Motor vehicles, industrial production and general dust also contributed to pollution in the 21 million-person city.
Even with the Beijing ban, coal use is expected to soar in China. Coal-fired power and heating is a major generator of greenhouse gases and has helped turn China into the world's largest emitter of carbon and other heat-trapping gases.
Pressure is growing on China's central government to clean up the country's polluted environment, as discontent over smog and water and soil contamination increases among China's expanding middle class.
The central government recently listed environmental protection as one of the top criteria by which leaders will be judged.
NickB79
(19,109 posts)Efforts by China to develop so-called "coal bases" in its far-flung regions have received scant attention beyond the trade press, but scientists watching the effort say it could cause climate damage that eclipses worldwide climate protection efforts.
The facilities, which resemble oil refineries, use coal to make liquid fuels, chemicals, power and "syngas," which is like natural gas but extracted from coal. The fuels and electricity are then transported to China's big cities to be burned in power plants, factories and cars.
Currently 16 coal base sites are being built and many are operational. One being constructed in Inner Mongolia will eventually occupy nearly 400 square milesalmost the size of the sprawling city of Los Angeles.
Nihil
(13,508 posts)> Currently 16 coal base sites are being built and many are operational.
> One being constructed in Inner Mongolia will eventually occupy nearly
> 400 square milesalmost the size of the sprawling city of Los Angeles.
Blade Runner, Elysium, District 9, Equilibrium (re-watched last night),
the Matrix trilogy, Oblivion, ...
Can you imagine what a complete sh*t-hole that place is going to be?