Opinion
Is Smog a Bolt From the Blue or Made by Man?
Beijing's plan to list smog as a meteorological disaster has sparked debates
  ·  2017-01-16  ·   Source: NO. 3 January 19, 2017

 

(LI SHIGONG)

The hated smog that has pervaded many parts of China for some years now, affecting people's daily lives and health, is usually attributed to human-caused air pollution. But now, Beijing is planning to list it in the forthcoming Beijing Meteorological Disasters Prevention and Control Regulations. It seems to imply smog is caused due to meteorological incidents, which has landed the proposed statute in the thick of a heated debate.

Some see this as ridiculous. Meteorological disasters are generally understood as natural phenomena that humans are incapable of preventing or controlling, such as rainstorms, blizzards and cold waves. Smog, on the other hand, is widely recognized as being caused by pollutants discharged by industries and other human activities. If smog is seen as a natural disaster, then industrial plants can discharge pollutants without fear of being held accountable and the environmental authorities will also have an excuse for their inadequate performance in cleaning up the air.

Some, however, argue that to incorporate smog into the prevention regulations will help to strengthen society's awareness of meteorological disasters and what could possibly be done to prevent or mitigate them. Although smog is widely seen as manmade air pollution, there is still some undeniable link between it and meteorological conditions.

Raising awareness

Xu Xiangde (www.thepaper.cn): Adding smog into the regulations will boost Beijing's disaster prevention and relief capability and raise public awareness of it. There are some links between smog and heavily polluted air, but there are also some essential differences between the two. Both natural factors and human activities can lead to the occurrence of smog. However, pollutants discharged due to human activities are escalating the negative impact of smog and contributing to heavy air pollution. Human activities are the core reason for today's smog disaster.

Zhang Dongxiang (www.cjn.cn): The draft, which was recently submitted to the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, the local legislature, for deliberation, means to add smog to the list of meteorological disasters so that it would be treated as a disaster. Those who make mistakes in disseminating meteorological disaster prevention information would be held accountable. This is a big step forward in dealing with disastrous meteorological phenomena.

The negative impact of smog on individuals' health should be fully understood. Smog contains at least 20 hazardous elements, not only causing damage to people's respiratory and cardiovascular systems, psychological health and reproductive capability, not to mention children's growth, but there is also a lot of evidence that people long exposed to smog are more likely to catch cancer than those who haven't.

Smog is hazardous and it's difficult to rein it in. So it's urgent to list it among meteorological disasters and treat it under the framework of a tough and lasting prevention mechanism.

Today, when overall living conditions have greatly improved, we have more reasons to focus on improving the environment. We hope the government will tackle smog in a more determined, effective and lasting manner.

Causing confusion

Liu Jilei (www.youth.cn): Smog, comprising fine particles suspended in the air, is a result of serious air pollution. Pollutants discharged into the air are the major source of smog. North China, a region particularly susceptible to smog, is home to a large number of heavily polluting plants engaged in the production of steel, coal, cement, and chemicals. As the economic pillars of local cities, these plants have been growing at a furious pace, along with increasingly frequent and serious smog.

In the final analysis, smog stems from human-caused pollution, rather than natural disasters. It's therefore improper to list it in the meteorological disaster prevention regulations. I've never heard of any country defining smog as a natural disaster. If it is ultimately classified as a natural disaster, it would be a setback for air pollution treatment.

This winter has seen tough measures against smog in Beijing and its surrounding regions, so there are some achievements to boast of, despite the still heavy presence of smog. We now have more blue-sky days than before. However, the prevention work is undoubtedly hurting some people's and sectors' interests, so it will meet with resistance. But we know that for the long-term good, the efforts must continue.

Tong Kezhen (Nanfang Metropolis Daily): We all know that smog, which nowadays tends to sweep much of the country, is mainly caused by factories discharging pollutants and auto emissions. These are human factors instead of natural hazards. If Beijing's local regulations regard it as a natural disaster, officials will have an excuse to blame smog on natural reasons, instead of being held accountable for not doing enough to address it. Fortunately, it's still a draft, and we hope it will be reversed. In tackling smog, the important thing is to follow the laws strictly, which means Beijing Municipality must first admit that smog is a "human-caused" disaster, not a natural one.

Liu Wenqing (news.sina.com.cn): We know there are many factors that cause smog in cities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, vehicle emissions and industrial pollutant discharges. But smog is also connected to certain meteorological conditions. The density of pollutants in the air in a certain area is to a large extent determined by local meteorological factors, such as wind speed and rainfall. Sometimes, the density of fine particles in the air sharply increases in hours, while sometimes it takes days for the density to reach a peak. If an area experiences a sharp increase in air particle density, it is mostly caused by a sudden massive pollutant discharge, but when many places show the symptom over several days, meteorological conditions are to blame. However, the fundamental reason is undoubtedly massive discharging of pollutants.

If smog is listed among natural meteorological hazards, the public might develop an inaccurate understanding of air pollution. They might equate smog with rainstorms or blizzards, and think smog is uncontrollable. This understanding will surely help the claim that only a strong wind can displace smog.

To admit that smog is a kind of human-caused air pollution is the premise for this issue to be resolved. Based on this understanding, it's important for enterprises to improve their methods of production, particularly to increase the use of clean energy in production. People should also be encouraged to live a low-carbon life. Smog can be greatly reduced by tracking its source and taking effective measures to deal with it.

Chai Fahe (www.chinabaike.com): Smog is by no means a meteorological disaster. It results from human discharge of pollutants. When these pollutants accumulate, they turn into smog under certain meteorological conditions. Populous areas tend to be heavily pervaded by smog, which is strikingly different from natural disasters like blizzards, gales and rainstorms. If industrial plants sharply cut the discharge of pollutants into the air and the government works out an effective mechanism to control air pollution strictly, smog can be reduced, which means smog is totally preventable.

As for natural meteorological disasters, you can do nothing to prevent any of the hazardous meteorological phenomena; you can only try to minimize the loss caused by them. Therefore, treating smog as a meteorological disaster will not only confuse and mislead the public, but will also hamper the government's efforts to tackle this problem.

Liu Xun (Legal Daily): According to legislative principles, laws and administrative rules have a higher status than local regulations. The draft should not go against national laws such as the Regulations on Prevention of and Preparedness for Meteorological Disasters issued by the State Council and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution.

The State Council's regulations explicitly categorize rainstorms, typhoons, droughts, frost, hail and the like as meteorological disasters, without listing smog. Smog, which is a result of air pollution, should be dealt with according to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution.

If Beijing's local regulations insist smog should be classified as a natural disaster, it is breaching basic legislative principles.

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

Comments to yanwei@163.com

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