It's getting harder to breathe in China. And ever-increase tonnage of U.S. coal bound for China is adding to the problem.
China may be attracting a number of expats, with Shanghai seeing a 7 percent increase in the number of foreigners living there. But one thing is certain, air quality in China's biggest cities is not getting better. Coal-fired power stations and an abundance of cars aren't helping matters.
The heavy smog and haze that enveloped Beijing this weekend pushed the pollution index to a record high. That has the infamous "Beijing Cough", a term coined by the city's expats, becoming increasingly popular with local media and Chinese citizens.
Saturday saw the density of PM2.5 — air particles smaller than 2.5 microns and able to enter the lungs and even the blood stream — climb higher than 900 micrograms per cubic meter in several districts in the capital, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. That's the highest level recorded since Beijing began publishing the data in early 2012, China Daily reported on Monday. The World Health Organization considers the safe daily level to be 25 micrograms per cubic meter.
air pollution across a large area of China has led to the cancellation of flights and sporting activities and the closure of highways, factories and construction sites.
From Beijing to Shanghai, there is a smokey mess hovering over the skyline, and the Chinese are breathing it in and breathing it out. And it's getting worse. The Chinese government urged people to "avoid outdoor activities" this weekend and Beijing schools cancelled all outdoor recess and sports activities until the air quality improves.
The thing with China is that the air quality never improves. It only goes from worse to bad.
It's getting to a point where it can effect business. The Beijing Environmental Protection Ministry said Sunday that factories and construction sites had agreed to reduce or stop work entirely until the air cleared up.
Chinese state run media have reacted strongly to the pollution problem. The state-run China Daily said in its Chinese language edition that the country had to learn to balance development with quality of life. The tabloid Global Times said China was risking serious long-term environmental damage.
The Xinhua news agency said there had been a sharp rise in people seeking treatment at the hospitals in the capital for respiratory problems.
The mother of one eight-month-old baby told the BBC that her child had suffered from lung problems for months and that they recently worsened after an outing. Ms Li said she had resorted to keeping a basin of water in the house in the hope it might act as an air purifier.
"It would be helpful if the city has less cars and the city could [place] curbs on car emissions," Li told the BBC.
It's not only cars, though.
China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world, and accounts for almost half of the world's coal consumption. China's electricity generation continues to be dominated by fossil fuel sources, particularly coal. The Chinese government has made the expansion of natural gas-fired and renewable power plants as well as electricity transmission a priority, but that will take years to take a chunk away from coal's market share. For instance, in 2009, China consumed 3.1 billion short tons of coal. It rose to 3.6 billion in 2010 and is higher now, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
Moreover, a portion of that coal is coming from the U.S.
A system of U.S. tax breaks and exemptions is helping to subsidize coal exports to China, creating vast profits for private coal companies. Two weeks ago, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) asked Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to investigate whether U.S. taxpayers were subsidizing coal companies mining on public lands and exporting coal to other countries, namely China. Approximately 43 percent of the coal produced in the U.S. comes from public lands managed by the government and owned by all Americans. While coal for electricity continues to decrease in the U.S., coal companies have turned to faster-growing Asian markets as a potential destination for U.S. coal. In 2011, for example, U.S. coal exports reached their highest level since 1991, and companies like Peabody Energy in Missouri have been forecasting higher exports to China in particular.
Coal is the world’s fastest growing energy source. Worldwide, coal use has grown an average of 4.4 percent per year since 1990. In recent years, the growth rate of coal consumption has vastly increased due to Asian demand. In 2003, for instance, the World Coal Institute projected world consumption would reach 7 billion tons by 2030. But eight years later, the figure was almost 7.5 billion tons and China took in most of it.
China has gone from being a net exporter of coal to the world’s largest coal importer and consumer. As those numbers have increased, industrialization and a rapid increase in automobiles on China highways have basically destroyed Chinese air quality. It's no wonder China wants to take the lead developing cleaner tech for cars and electricity. So far, judging by air quality alone, the country is losing the battle.
See: U.S. Tax Loopholes Drive Up Coal Exports To China -- China Dialogue
Airpocalypse! Images Of China Pollution -- The Shanghaist
