In pure Arctic air, signs of China's economic boom

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
Mon Sep 10, 8:10 AM ET



ZEPPELIN MOUNTAIN, Norway (Reuters) - From a remote snowcapped mountain in the European Arctic you can detect China in the haze.

In the apparently pure Arctic air, a research station on a Norwegian island mountain ridge finds tiny chemical traces from factories in Russia, pesticides in Israel or China's coal-fired power plants.

"Some days we can definitely tell that the air has come from China," said Kim Holmen, research director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, at the station which has spectacular views over fjords, mountains and glaciers of Spitsbergen island.

The good news from a barrage of sensors is that many of the worst air pollutants, some of them linked to cancers or acid rain, have declined because of clean air laws in recent decades.

But greenhouse gases are surging and other pollutants are building up again even in a wilderness 1,200 km (750 miles) from the North Pole and 1,000 km from the nearest towns and factories in Russia and Norway.

A polluting haze that can blur the view in the Arctic springtime has thickened since around the late 1990s, perhaps because of more forest fires caused by climate change or rising pollution from Asia, led by China's boom, scientists say.

"The Arctic haze is increasing," said Lars Otto Reiersen, head of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program in Oslo. But the haze is still not as thick as in the 1980s.

Zeppelin, on a 474 meter (1,555 ft) high mountain ridge, is one of about a dozen stations in remote spots from Hawaii to Antarctica that dissect the atmosphere in a U.N. network. It is named after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a German Arctic explorer better known for building airships.

DETECTIVE WORK

"The air is always mixing but you can do some detective work: the particles are slightly different in the United States, Russia, China, Europe or India," Holmen said.

Emissions from cars, for instance, have a different chemical signature according to national gasoline blends. Israel is alone in using a type of pesticide on its orange trees.

More ghoulishly, funeral pyres in some Asian countries release toxic mercury from fillings in the teeth of the deceased. If detected, the mercury means air did not come from Europe, North America or Japan where crematoriums have filters.

"Most of the particles we see come from Europe and Russia," Holmen said of measurements at the site, reached by a tiny cable car. "About 20 percent are from elsewhere."

Clambering up a ladder onto a snow-covered roof crowded with high-tech air-sniffing sensors, Holmen noted the clock to make sure scientists would disregard all measurements when people were outside and disrupt readings.

"When we are out here it has an immediate impact on carbon dioxide levels," he told visitors, as a chill wind blew from the Pole. People emit the gas when breathing.

A recent spike in some readings was explained after a scientist spotted the tracks of an Arctic fox in snow nearby.

One of the clearest trends at Zeppelin is a rise in greenhouse gases, at the highest in more than 650,000 years according to studies of air bubbles trapped in ancient ice.

Carbon dioxide levels reached about 390 parts per million this year against 270 ppm before the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century ushered in wide use of fossil fuels. Warming is widely expected to bring more heatwaves, floods and rising seas.

Most greenhouse gases come from Europe and North America but the rise is quickening, perhaps again pointing to growth in developing nations led by China. But greenhouse gases are invisible and the thickening of the Arctic haze is a puzzle.

FOREST BLAZES

"There was an improvement in the transparency of the Arctic atmosphere until 6-8 years ago and then it started to worsen again," Reiersen said.

"This is probably because of an increase in forest fires due to climate change. There are more fires in Siberia and North America and these bring more soot into the atmosphere," he said.

Global warming can contribute to fires because more beetles that prey on trees survive in less icy winters. Trees infested by beetles often dry out and are more vulnerable to fires.

Overall, the world has made progress in cleaning the air since early efforts such as the U.S. Air Pollution Control Act of 1955. Sulphur pollutants from Russian metals smelters have fallen because of laws curbing acid rain.

And a 2001 U.N. pact outlawed a "dirty dozen" industrial chemicals such as PCBs and pesticides, partly after they were found in the breast milk of Inuit women and in polar bear fat.

Holmen said he was trying to refine measurements -- the main disturbances are from a scientific base at Ny Alesund in the valley below, where between 30 and 130 people live.

He said he had even suggested an outdoor smoking ban in Ny Alesund. "Nobody seemed to like that idea," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071 ... E2tUURZQzuFifYBxg8F

Beijing denies ban on Bibles at Olympics
By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer

Thu Nov 8, 1:24 PM ET

BEIJING - Beijing Olympic organizers angrily disputed allegations of religious intolerance Thursday, saying Bibles and other religious items for personal use will be welcome at next summer's games - except for the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Recent reports by a religious news agency and European media saying Bibles would be banned at the Olympics touched off an outcry that prompted a U.S. senator to call the Chinese ambassador for an explanation and a Christian athletes group to protest the "deep violation."

Beijing organizers flatly denied the reports, and the Foreign Ministry charged the allegations were likely the work of people who want to sabotage Beijing's hosting of the games.

"There is no such thing. This kind of report is an intentional distortion of truth," said Li Zhanjun, director of the Beijing Olympics media center.

He said texts and other items from major religious groups that are brought into China for personal use by athletes and visitors are permitted. The Beijing Olympics Web site said "each traveler is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China."

Li also said religious services - Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist - will be available to athletes in the Olympic Village.

However, he said, the policies do not apply to Falun Gong, reasserting China's determination to eradicate the movement. Falun Gong was banned eight years ago as an "evil cult" after its members staged a mass protest outside government headquarters to demand official recognition.

The State Department says Falun Gong practitioners in China face arrest, detention and possible torture as members overseas maintain a vigorous campaign of protest against China's government.

"We don't recognize it because it's a cult," Li said. "So Falun Gong texts, Falun Gong activities in China are forbidden. Foreigners who come to China must respect and abide by the laws of China."

China's leadership is using the Summer Olympics to project a positive image of the country. Venue construction has hummed at a record pace, and Beijing is so eager to host a flawless event that it enacted campaigns to stomp out speaking poor English, spitting, littering and cutting in line.

Yet preparations have been tarred by complaints about China's human rights abuses and Beijing's choking smog. The regime also has drawn criticism over its support for Sudan's Arab-dominated government, an oil supplier accused of atrocities against ethnic Africans in Darfur.
The games have now cast a spotlight on religion, which is heavily regulated in China by the officially atheist ruling Communist party. Worship is legal only in party-controlled churches, temples and mosques, and those who attend others face harassment, arrest and terms in labor camps or prison.

Bibles are printed under government supervision and can be sold only in approved churches, according to the Web site of China's State Administration for Religious Affairs. Visitors can bring in religious texts for personal use, but no more than three copies of each, said an official at the agency's regulation department, who refused to give his name.

In a statement, the International Olympic Committee said the news articles reporting a Bible ban stemmed from a misunderstanding of what was said at an October briefing in Beijing during which items banned from import into China were discussed.

"It is clear that athletes coming to the games are able to bring with them religious items for personal use, as in previous games, to the Olympic venues," the statement said.

Speaking at a regularly scheduled news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said the media reports pointed to attempts to undermine China's Olympic glory.

"There are some people out there who do not want to see China hold a successful games," Liu said.

In a statement, the International Olympic Committee said the news articles reporting a Bible ban stemmed from a misunderstanding of what was said at an October briefing in Beijing during which items banned from import into China were discussed.

Originally posted by northwest at 2007-11-9 12:58
Based on this logic, the western media also should boycott and condemn London 2012 Olympics, for the Brits staged illegal war against Iraq.

Beijing denies ban on Bibles at Olympics
By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer

Chinese-made toy beads recalled after children fall ill


· Chemical similar to liquid ecstasy blamed for comas
· Panic spreads to North America from Australasia

Ed Pilkington in New York and David Pallister
Friday November 9, 2007
The Guardian


A scare over a popular toy made in China that was found to contain a chemical similar to the recreational drug liquid ecstasy has spread around the world, with millions of the toys being recalled in Australia and North America.
The alert began in Australia and New Zealand where six children fell ill, some of them going into a deep coma, after swallowing small beads that make up the toy, known in the region as Bindeez.

Yesterday the panic spread to the US and Canada, where the toy, sold under the brand name Aqua Dots, was removed from thousands of stores after it emerged that two children had succumbed to the chemical. The North American representative of the toy, Spin Master, said it had pulled it off the shelves "out of an abundance of caution".
Further recalls of the toy, which is distributed to 40 countries, are likely to follow. In the UK a similar toy called Aquabeads is distributed by Flair Leisure Products in Cheam, south-west London. The chief executive, Peter Brown, said yesterday that his product was made in a different factory with a different formula.

He said: "Bindeez is a very similar product to Aquabeads and therefore there exists the possibility of concern amongst retailers and consumers about the safety and integrity of Aquabeads. We hope by clarifying that there is no relationship between the products, consumers and retailers will be assured about the safety of Aquabeads."

He added that Aquabeads were being put through a toxicology risk analysis this week and early reports suggested they were entirely safe.

In Australia and the US it has been a different story. One mother from Arkansas told ABC television how her 20-month-old son went limp after playing with beads from his older sister's Aqua Dots set. "That's when we knew what he had eaten and that things were pretty bad," Shelby Esses said.

The boy's doctor, Matt Jaeger, added: "It was pretty dramatic. He was unconscious in this coma for about six hours. And then, over the course of just a few minutes, went from being completely asleep to wide awake and playing like nothing ever happened."

The scare is the latest blow to the industry in the commercial run-up to Christmas and damages further the reputation of Chinese goods, which account for more than 60% of global toy sales. This year the giant Mattel recalled more than 21m toys made in China from its global outlets after concerns were raised about detachable parts and lead paint which can cause brain damage in children.

The image of the "made in China" label has been particularly battered in the US, where there have been a record-breaking 472 recalls this year, particularly of toys, pet food and tyres.

Recent surveys of American parents suggest that a third have decided to avoid all Chinese-made goods as they plan their Christmas shopping.

On Wednesday US authorities announced a separate recall of more than 400,000 children's products, mainly toys sold at dollar stores, with dangerous levels of lead.

Bindeez/Aqua Dots kits are made up of small beads that can be stuck together to make shapes and designs once they are sprayed with water. It has proved to be wildly popular - it was voted 2007 Australian Toy of the Year and 12m packets, containing more than 8bn beads, have been sold worldwide.

The normal product is coated with a harmless glue made from a chemical, 1,5-pentanediol. In the faulty batches the glue was replaced by 1,4-butanediol, a chemical which when taken into the body breaks down into a poison similar in composition to liquid ecstasy, or gamma hydroxy butyrate. The drug, which is also known as GBH or fantasy, is a well-known dance drug, inducing a degree of sedation, and has been linked to cases of date rape.

It remained unclear last night whether the chemicals were intentionally or mistakenly swapped. Both chemicals are widely used in factories in Shenzhen in China's southern Guangdong province where the beads are thought to have been made before being distributed by the Australian-based firm Moose Enterprise.

The company says it will resupply the product coated with an ingredient that is bitter to the tongue to dissuade children from swallowing the beads.

The Chinese government has attempted to assuage rising fears about the quality of Chinese products by stepping up factory inspections and investing in training on international safety standards. But with the demand for cheap goods continuing to boom, and China's exports growing at an astonishing 28% a year, the country is likely to continue to find it difficult to meet safety standards set in the United States and other highly industrialised nations.

Originally posted by wchao37 at 2007-11-9 16:51
They are now saying Chinese toys contain ecstasy-like drug.  Look at this Guardian piece:



This is going to continue if Li Chan-jiang does not start suing Mattel for defamation.

Hire a U.S ...

Originally posted by satsu_jin at 2007-11-9 21:15



Germany's leading anti China propaganda magazine, 'DER SPIEGEL'  reported this yesterday as well. This news magazine reported that 3 kids in Australia and 2 in the US fell ill already. Everyw ...

Originally posted by wchao37 at 2007-11-9 16:21
No sweat, I believe you've hit a nerve here.  Look at this guy's hysterical reaction.

For anyone to believe that Beijing will stop anyone from distributing bibles at the Olympics is preposterous

Even if force needs to be used in the Spring because of the Taidus, the Beijing Olympics will still be a success.  I guarantee it.  ...

Originally posted by tripitaka at 2007-11-9 16:49
To understand why China gets criticised you need to understand that human rights is big business in western countries. If a “refugee” gets into the country, they need to be assessed, and given a  ...

Originally posted by tripitaka at 2007-11-9 16:49
To understand why China gets criticised you need to understand that human rights is big business in western countries. If a “refugee” gets into the country, they need to be assessed, and given a  ...