Course:ECON371/UBCO2010WT1/GROUP6/Article7
'Measurements of CO2 and CO in China's Air Indicate Sharply Improved Combustion Efficiency'
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Summary
The article from Daily science on “Measurements of CO2 and CO in China’s Air Indicate Sharply Improved Combustion Efficiency” informs that carbon dioxide levels in Beijing and another provinces demonstrate overall improvement in energy efficiency and combustion efficiency. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have measured in rural area of Miyung located about 100km away from Northeast of Beijing by atmospheric scientists and environmental engineers from Tsinghua University in Beijing and Harvard University. The research team have observed the wind direction, speed & air pollution from the Beijing urban area since November 2004 which has allowed them to pinpoint plumes of polluted air. The research analysis has concluded the carbon dioxide and CO level appears to be consistent with statistic with China’s official which shows an improvement in overall energy efficient.
According to the author, "The Chinese government committed to improve energy efficiency in its 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), and this study shows how independent quantitative evidence of its progress can be inferred from the chemistry of its air". With improvement in efficient energy and fuel combustion releases and high-efficiency combustion processes for instance green cars and modern power plants produce small amount or no CO which is cleaner alternative to the environment. Besides this, the study shows there’s increasing combustion efficiency in the Beijing region after upgrading the new vehicles and implementing the environmental regulation.
The research program called The Harvard China Project are focusing on the China’s Air pollution issue who is participated with Harvard University and Chinese university. The objective of the project is to conduct interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed studies related to air pollution and greenhouse gases in China aim for environmental development and reduce air pollution in China.
Analysis
China is a big country. In terms of population and physical landscape, China consist of both aspects. After the war world, the population of China grew exponentially. There are many disadvantage in the terms of overpopulation. One of the negative aspects of overpopulation is the damage to the environment. The excess of jobs specifically in the production business caused the excess pollution. The demand for transportation and private vehicle has increased which led to an excess in emission level. With a growing population all of these factors would continue to grow . In fact, the situation of overpopulation directly cause the demand for housing and cheap energy. In order to overcome that problem, people tend to build tall buildings and use charcoal as a replace for cheap and efficient energy source. This site has caused one of the many problems in many larger cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong. Although taller buildings are able to sustain and provide a lot more housing, however this indirectly retain the pollution that was caused by overpopulation. Moreover, this phenomenon created a problem that has been researched by two Universities, Harvard and TsingHua. The professionals in the field of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics from both Universities had studied the city of Beijing and the pollution that is created within the city and as well as the non-point source pollution that might have been originated from Beijing. Since the 2008 summer Olympic in China, the government and the people of China continues to slowly improve the environment in many cities in China. There are regulations and many other incentives that encourage the local citizens to take part in the plan of reducing the level of CO2 in the air that is essential to approximately a billion people. There are many proposals in terms of improving the air quality in China as well as improving the well being of the people who live there through incentives and regulations. Proposals regarding about this change comes from many organizations and universities. There are proposals being made from Harvard University to the officials in China currently.
Social Efficiency
The fact that the plan in place is supposed to make a substantial difference in only five years seems to be a bit of a lofty goal, and not necessarily socially efficient, as radical changes may have to be put into place. Society has become accustomed to functioning in a particular way, given their enormous population. The population of China is one of the most prominent reasons for their pollution problems. To make changes significant enough to drop CO2 levels to a healthier quantity would mean large and likely not welcome changes to China's way of life. As the article discusses, CO2 levels are lower around the more populated regions, which is progress to be sure, however many of the factories that produce emissions most damaging to the environment are located in the more rural city limits. People within Beijing are more likely to have the money to switch to more fuel efficient vehicles and purchase more "green" products. It is much more expensive to upgrade the plants and assist the millions of people living outside of the cities. Therefore, while the results of the study are good, there is room for improvement. The scientists also report that there was improvement in ambient quality leading up to the 2008 summer Olympics, due to harsh restrictions imposed by the Chinese government. However, since then we have seen air pollution levels hit record highs in China. so bad that school children are no longer allowed outside to play. Short term harsh restrictions are a band aid solution. China needs to implements region specific regulations to drop pollution all over China, and certainly over a long period of time, such as ten years minimum.
Prof's Comments
I would have liked to see some discussion of how increased efficiency of fuel burning translates into changes in the marginal abatement cost and the marginal damage function. You are right to question how this was achieved. Did industries move to other areas, or are industries becoming more efficient. Is this change a cost effective one, or is there an inefficient approach.