h****r
发帖数: 258 | 1 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/15/china-air-pollutio
paper link
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/09/1403364111
Smog in Beijing. China is revising its environmental laws to allow local
authorities to shut polluting factories and punish offenders. Photograph:
David Gray/Reuters
China's air pollution could be intensifying storms over the Pacific Ocean
and altering weather patterns in North America, according to scientists in
the US. A team from Texas, California and Washington state has found that
pollution from Asia, much of it arising in China, is leading to more intense
cyclones, increased precipitation and more warm air in the mid-Pacific
moving towards the north pole.
According to the team's findings, which were released on Monday in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, these changes could
ultimately contribute to erratic weather in the US.
The authors used advanced computer models to study interactions between
clouds and fine airborne particles known as aerosols, particularly manmade
ones such as those emitted from vehicles and coal-fired power plants.
"Our work provides, for the first time to the authors' knowledge, a global
multi-scale perspective of the climatic effects of pollution outflows from
Asia," says the study's abstract.
One effect, the study says, is an "intensification of the Pacific storm
track", a narrow zone over the ocean where some storms that pass over the US
begin to gather.
"Mid-latitude storms develop off Asia and they track across the Pacific,
coming in to the west coast of the US," said Ellie Highwood, a climate
physicist at the University of Reading. "The particles in this model are
affecting how strong those storms are, how dense the clouds are, and how
much rainfall comes out of those storms."
China is fighting to contain the environmental fallout from 30 years of
unchecked growth. Of 74 Chinese cities monitored by the central government
71 failed to meet air quality standards, the environmental ministry said
last month.
China's top leaders are aware of the extent of the problem. Beijing will
soon revise an important piece of legislation and give environmental
protection authorities the power to shut polluting factories, punish
officials and restrict industrial development in some areas, Reuters
reported on Tuesday.
The changes to the China's environmental protection law, the first since
1989, will legally enshrine oft-repeated government promises to prioritise
environmental protection over economic growth.
Cao Mingde, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and
Law, told the newswire that upholding environmental protection as a
fundamental principle was a huge change. "It emphasises that the environment
is a priority."
Although the legislation's fourth draft is nearing completion, it is still
short on details, according to the report. China's legal system is often
hostile to pollution-related litigation.
On Monday, a Chinese court rejected a lawsuit by five residents of Lanzhou,
a city in the country's north-west, over an incident last week when
dangerous levels of the carcinogenic chemical benzene were detected in the
water supply. The residents demanded damages, a public apology and water
quality data from the city-owned water company.
According to a local newspaper, the court claimed that under civil procedure
law, the litigants were unqualified to sue; in pollution-related cases only
"agencies and organisations" could press charges, and they needed official
authorisation to take action. | c*****g
发帖数: 21627 | 2 这时候应该借势引导霉国霉体：“帮助中国就是帮助我们自己”
intense
【在 h****r 的大作中提到】
: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/15/china-air-pollutio
: paper link
: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/09/1403364111
: Smog in Beijing. China is revising its environmental laws to allow local
: authorities to shut polluting factories and punish offenders. Photograph:
: David Gray/Reuters
: China's air pollution could be intensifying storms over the Pacific Ocean
: and altering weather patterns in North America, according to scientists in
: the US. A team from Texas, California and Washington state has found that
: pollution from Asia, much of it arising in China, is leading to more intense
| m**********n
发帖数: 27535 | |
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